Blast from the Past
by Mahala
Summary: What does an explosion in New York City have to do with Mac's former team? And how will it affect his current one? Team action and a little Mac/Jo. Complete.
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N :**__Please read the disclaimer in my profile. As this story touches on Mac's military career I have had to make a number of assumptions which I hope remain within the realms of plausibility. At the end of Season 2 (Charge of this Post) we are told he was a Lieutenant in 1983 and in Season 6 (Blacklist featuring Gravedigger) we are told that he was a Major having just fought in a war thereby earning a silver star (awarded for gallantry in action against an enemy) on the edge of retiring and joining the NYPD. According to the ribbons he was wearing we must therefore assume that he served in the Persian Gulf War and I am therefore assuming that he would have earned a promotion to Major after that campaign. So for the purposes of this story I am making him a Captain in charge of a company (usually made up of three rifle platoons and a heavy weapons platoon plus command staff). Please forgive any historical/geographical errors that I may have made regarding potential events or locations._

_.  
><em>

**Chapter 1**

Jo Danville was never so glad to see the bright lights of the bar as she was this evening. She dashed through the doors desperate to get out of the torrential downpour.

"Hey Jo! Over here!" Jo pushed her way past the crowd of men at the bar towards Don's voice, taking off her wet coat and shaking the water from her hair.

"Wow! What's going on in here tonight? Looks like half of the NYPD are celebrating or using it as an excuse to get out of the rain." Jo shook the coat sending a shower of raindrops onto the floor, hung it up and slid onto the end seat of the booth and looked around the faces smiling back at her. She sighed noting the one obvious absentee. "He's not coming is he? Please tell me he's not going to pull yet another all-nighter trying to fix next year's budget?"

A raucous cheer came from the group standing by the bar as they toasted one of their comrades, causing everyone to glance in their direction.

"No, but he has a good excuse." smiled Danny, silently noting the disappointment on her face. "Reed is in town for a couple of days and he wanted to catch up with Mac before he left so Mac's taken him for an early dinner at that fancy new Italian place round the corner."

At Jo's quizzical look Lindsay leaned over and whispered quietly. "Claire's son."

"Oh!" As Don pushed a drink towards her, Jo hid her curiosity and her disappointment, and raised her glass. "Well here is to a great team and getting Denver Hutchings off the streets! " Jo's face fell as everyone burst out laughing. "What's so funny? What did I say?"

"Did Mac tell you to say that?" asked Sheldon grinning at Jo's confusion.

"Maybe it's in the Assistant Supervisors handbook under '10 ways to motivate your team!'" quipped Adam. Jo looked even more confused as the team tried to explain that those had been Mac's exact words at a dinner celebrating the capture of the Compass Killer. As they explained the ins and outs of the case, and the unusual epithet all thoughts of their boss were temporarily forgotten.

.

_'CSI:NY - CSI:NY - CSI:NY - CSI:NY - CSI:NY'_

.

The watcher shifted uneasily in his seat and tapped the steering wheel nervously as he observed the two men seated by the brightly-lit window of the restaurant and felt a pang of jealousy. He'd watched them enjoy their meal, heads bowed in earnest conversation, occasionally laughing at some private joke. He couldn't hear their words or even see their faces clearly through the rain-soaked wind-shield but he was envious of the ease that they seemed to share in one another's company. He glanced at his watch. He wished it was him, sitting in a restaurant sipping wine, enjoying nice food with someone for company. He didn't want to be sitting alone in the cold dark car just waiting. Waiting for the right moment. He looked at the watch again.

He watched as the waiter approached and the younger of the two men left the table. He leaned forward in his seat and peered through the raindrops. He watched as the older man paid and rose to put on his coat. He glanced at the watch once more. Almost 7 o'clock. He should be home now. He should not be sitting here but he had no choice. His fingers touched the keys in the ignition nervously as he watched the older man step out onto the side-walk, check his wrist-watch and look up at the sky. The man looked up and down the street and then suddenly he turned and looked straight at him. The watcher knew it was now or never.

.

_'CSI:NY - CSI:NY - CSI:NY - CSI:NY - CSI:NY'_

.

Mac drained his espresso with a satisfied sigh. It had been a long couple of days and this was the first proper meal he had enjoyed in some time. He pushed the cup away and signalled to the waiter for the check. Reed Garrett finished off his tiramisu with a final scrape of the bowl.

"Mac, thank you! That was great! I'm sorry that it was so rushed but ..." Reed broke off as Mac raised his hands.

"No no. I understand what it's like to be under pressure Reed." They both laughed. "It's a great story and you have a deadline to meet. I'm just glad that we've had time to catch up. Now come on, you've got a plane to catch." Mac leaned slightly to one side to reach for his wallet as the waiter approached. He slipped some notes onto the silver tray as Reed excused himself to use the rest-room. Mac pushed his wallet back into his pocket and rose to put on his coat.

Stepping outside Mac glanced at his watch. It was still early. Maybe he'd have time to stop by Mason's retirement party at the bar round the corner. He looked up at the grey clouds scudding across the sky. At least the rain seemed to be stopping. He looked around for a cab for Reed. As he did so he caught sight of a slightly battered, old blue pick-up parked a little further up on the far side of the road. Mac frowned in consternation. You didn't see many of those around in the city these days, many people having upgraded to more modern cars adapted to city driving so it was unusual to see the same one three times in one evening. As a car passed down the street, it's headlights briefly lit up the interior of the pick-up and Mac saw that someone was seated inside. Mac could have sworn they were looking at him.

He glanced back at the restaurant in time to see Reed emerge from the rest-rooms and stop to speak to the owner of the restaurant. They were both laughing at something as the owner passed Reed a wheelie bag and Reed swung his computer bag onto his shoulder. Mac glanced back at the pick-up and, his curiosity piqued, he stepped out into the street towards it.

.

_'CSI:NY - CSI:NY - CSI:NY - CSI:NY - CSI:NY'_

.

"Well, we gotta get going." Lindsay drained her glass. "My Mom's in town so we can't leave her all day, can we dear?" Lindsay smiled her sweetest smile at her husband who merely rolled his eyes at the thought of an evening with his mother-in-law though truth be known they actually got on quite well. Lindsay nudged him in the ribs affectionately.

"Yeah, me too!" smiled Sheldon shyly. At the overt nudge from Danny and the grin Don was aiming in his direction he added. "Camille's cooking dinner." They rose to leave just as another raucous round of laughter filled the bar.

Don smiled at Jo and Adam. "Well it looks like they're giving Mason a good send off … you guys wanna join em...?" Don had barely finished his sentence when an almighty bang shook the windows of the bar. Everyone turned to see what had caused the noise and the vibration.

"What the hell was that ..?" Don jumped up and headed for the door immediately followed by Sheldon and a number of other officers. As he pushed his way out into the street, he could hear a couple of car alarms going off and car tires squealing to a halt. He took off in the direction of the noise. As he rounded the corner he could see a great plume of smoke from the far end of the street. Already his ears picked up the sound of a siren, probably a squad car in the vicinity as curious about the noise as he was. They weren't that far from police plaza so the area was crawling with police officers both on and off duty.

Don set off at a jog running down the middle of the road, weaving between the cars that had been forced to stop. As he reached the centre of the intersection he looked down the small side street to his right. Don couldn't believe his eyes. It was like stepping into a war zone. The remains of a car was on fire. Pieces of twisted chassis were scattered across the street, steam rising from them as the lightly falling rain touched the burning metal. Nearby windows were shattered; the tattered remains of a red awning had partially collapsed in front of a restaurant. Trash cans that had been blown over in the blast spilled their contents into the street, and pieces of paper fluttered in the breeze like oversized butterflies. The bitter, acrid smoke blowing towards him filled his lungs causing him to cough.

"Don! Hold up! What the ..." Danny and Sheldon had caught up and were now staring in shock at the scene in front of them. "What a mess!" Don was vaguely aware of other officers from the bar joining them including Jo who had caught hold of the sleeve of his jacket and was staring at the scene in horror. No one moved for a few seconds as they took stock of the situation. As the smoke began to clear they saw a figure in the middle of the street rise up from the ground, the rain on his long dark coat glistening in the light of the fire. As the man turned unsteadily towards them to look at what remained of the car, his blood-stained face was clearly visible in the glow from the fire.

"Mac!"


	2. Chapter 2

**_A/N : Thank you dear reviewers. As always your comments are very much appreciated. Oh and dear csiny96, I can't hurt Mac too badly other he wouldn't be able to res... tut tut I almost gave away the plot. ;-)_  
><strong>

**Chapter 2 **

"Mac!" Mac turned his head as he realised someone was calling his name. "Mac!" Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion; his vision blurred and he fought to remain upright. The sounds were muted because of the ringing in his ears. The smoke caused him to cough and he felt like retching. He was vaguely aware that someone had caught hold of his arms. As the world stopped turning and his vision cleared once more he realized that Sheldon was kneeling in front of him and Jo had a steadying arm around his shoulders. Somehow he now found himself sitting on the steps of a nearby building a short distance from the explosion. As he looked around he could see that both Don and Danny were on their phones. Don was beckoning furiously to a number of uniformed officers while a fire team had just arrived. Reed was standing staring at him, a worried expression on his face. Suddenly the sounds came back in full force. He could hear the sound of sirens blaring, people shouting, car horns shrieking their frustration; even his own breathing sounded unnaturally loud.

"Mac! Look at me!" Mac's attention snapped back to Sheldon whose face was full of concern. "You with me?"

"I'm fine." he said earning a thoroughly disapproving look from his friend. "The pick-up … it just exploded."

"Yeah Mac. I think we've worked that one out." Mac started to get up. "Oh no you don't. You stay put." Jo pulled on his shoulder to get him to stay. Mac turned to look at her in surprise as she turned her attention to Sheldon. "Sheldon?"

"That cut will need a few stitches. Clearly a concussion. Nothing too serious. Just take it easy for a few minutes, okay Mac? EMT will be here shortly and we'll get that taken care off." He turned to look at Jo. "I'm going to make sure there are no other casualties. Stay with him."

"Mac, are you sure you're okay?" Reed looked horrified at the blood streaked down the side of Mac's face. Mac nodded and tried to get up again.

"Which bit of stay put are you having trouble understanding?" spat Jo. "And don't give me that look." Mac was about to glare at her but he picked up an undercurrent of fear in her tone despite her efforts at an authoritative voice.

"It's okay. Really. I just need a few minutes." Mac suddenly felt weary as he lifted his hand to the side of his head and felt the warm stickiness. His shoulders sagged slightly and he decided that he was glad he was sitting and that Jo was there, the comforting arm around his shoulders reminding him that he was still in the land of the living. He hung his head and closed his eyes as a sudden wave of nausea washed over him

"Mac, what do you remember?" asked Jo gently.

"Erm … I came out of the restaurant to flag a cab for Reed ..." he began. "... Reed, your flight?" Mac's head shot up as he realized that Reed would now probably miss his flight. The world tilted once more but soon righted itself as he felt the arm around his shoulders tighten.

"It's okay Mac. I can get the later one." Reed bounced lightly from foot to foot and chewed on the edge of his thumb. He felt rather than knew that something was wrong. A car exploding was no random event and one just where he and Mac happened to be started bells ringing in the back of his mind. He glanced nervously up and down the street..

"I saw the blue pick-up. It was following me." Mac's voice sounded a little shaky and he squeezed his eyes tight in order to remember what had happened.

"What? Are you sure?" asked Jo. She glanced at Reed who looked all the more uncomfortable. She noticed him check out the street as though he expected another attack to come at any minute. Her attention was drawn back to Mac.

"There aren't that many old pick-ups on the streets on New York these days. I remember seeing it as I left the office … and then I noticed it when we met up outside Harvey's ..." Mac glanced at Reed who just shrugged his shoulders. He hadn't been taking any notice. So Mac continued. "Then when I saw him parked there right across the street … it seemed unusual ..." Mac trailed off. " … then it just exploded."

"Mac, you said him. Was there someone in the car?" As Mac seemed to drift away, Jo pushed a little more. "Mac? Did you see someone in the car?"

Mac turned slowly to look at her. "The lights from a passing car lit his face briefly. There was someone in the car when it exploded. He was looking right at me."

Jo turned to look at the car and then at Reed. "Reed, can you stay with him?" She changed places with Reed and as she left to find Don, she glanced back at Mac. She was glad to see he hadn't attempted to move but her heart clenched at the look of desolation on his face.

"Jo! Is Mac okay?" Jo turned to face Don and lowered her voice.

"Yeah but Don, I have a feeling this wasn't an accident. In fact, I think it may be someone out to get Mac."

"What?" Don could hardly believe his ears. He pulled Jo to one side. " What makes you say that?"

"Mac said he saw someone sitting in the car looking straight at him just as the car exploded. He saw the same car twice before this evening. It was following him." Don's eyes followed Jo's as they watched the fire department begin to put away their equipment. The fire had virtually burnt itself out so there was little for them to do. A couple of fire crew were pulling at the remains of the awning to ensure that it wouldn't fall while officers accompanied the remaining customers and staff away from the restaurant. At both ends of the street uniformed officers had set up cordons, and were redirecting traffic and trying to move onlookers away as more official-looking cars arrived at the scene.

Sheldon came running up. "Okay, it looks like there are no other casualties; a couple of passers-by were hit by flying glass but with the stores closing up and the sudden downpour the road was relatively quiet … it could have been a lot worse!" Sheldon looked at Don and Jo's sombre faces. "What's up?"

"The pick-up was following Mac this evening. The driver was in the car when it exploded." Don's face conveyed the seriousness of the situation. Sheldon's eyes widened. He glanced at Mac before turning away and moving closer to the pick-up. They walked around to the driver's side. As they peered through the remains of the door frame they could make out the blackened remains of a body sprawled across the seat.

"Are you implying what I think you're implying?" asked Sheldon uncertainly. "You think this was deliberate? You think he wanted to take Mac with him?"

"If he did, why didn't he wait until Mac was closer to make sure?" Jo's brow creased in concentration as she thought aloud. "Suicide bombers usually target indiscriminately. If this was personal and he had a grudge against Mac he would have wanted to face him, for Mac to know he was going to die at his hand. Why detonate from a distance?"

"Whoa! Suicide bomber? Are we even sure this was a bomb? Could it have been an accident?" asked Don startled.

"No with this amount of debris, over this distance and the..." Jo spun around as she waved her hand to indicate the spread of the blast pattern. She stopped abruptly as she came face to face with two severe-looking men in dark suits.

"Detectives, I'm Agent Marsh, this is Agent Henley, Homeland Security. We'll be handling this from here." announced the elder of two men. He was dressed almost entirely in grey with the exception of his shoes which were black and highly polished. His greying hair was combed away from his face which was thin and hard. His small dark eyes surveyed them distrustfully and his mouth was drawn into a sneer as though he found the whole situation distasteful.

Jo looked at him curiously. "Why would Homeland Security be interested in …?"

"Any threat to national security is within our jurisdiction. A bombing in New York City is to be considered a threat. We'll take it from here. Thank you Detectives." Agent Marsh rattled out the words like an automaton as he held out his arm indicating that they should leave. Before Jo could challenge the man she noticed Reed standing arguing with two more similarly suited agents. Mac was nowhere in sight. Evidently Don and Sheldon had noticed the same thing.

"Where's Mac?" they asked in unison.

"Detective Taylor is currently assisting us with our enquiries. Now if you please I must ask you to vacate the vicinity..." Marsh once more indicated that their presence was no longer required. Jo glanced at Don and Sheldon. Grabbing her phone and punching in a number she made her way towards Reed. Don and Sheldon had no choice but to follow. Don bent his head closer to Sheldon's and said in a low voice, asked the exact same question that Sheldon was thinking. "Vacate the vicinity?" Sheldon shook his head in incomprehension. "Who is this guy?"

Standing behind the police tape, Jo placed the phone back in her pocket with a huff. "The chief says they're in charge for the time being but he is going to make some calls and find out what is going on."

"What is going on?" asked Lindsay breathlessly as she ran up and handed Danny his kit.

"Good question. 'Cos whatever it is, we're not involved!" he spat as he put his kit down. "The guys in suits have taken over our crime scene."

Lindsay looked around and spotted Don talking to a small group of detectives. They occasionally glanced over at the dark-suited agents who now had the street evacuated. One of them was talking to the chief fire officer and two more were still questioning Reed Garrett. Marsh was pacing up and down speaking on his phone, the sneer still on his face, watching his young partner take pictures of the car.

"Where's Mac?" she asked.

"A_ssisting them with their enquiries!_" Jo gave Lindsay a sideways glance, her face a mixture of frustration and worry.

"Is he in any condition to be _assisting them with their enquiries_?" asked Lindsay clearly surprised, as the last time she had seen him before she went to get their kits from the lab, Mac had been sitting on the steps clearly dazed, with blood oozing from a gash on the side of his face.

"No!" Sheldon looked furious. "They just waded in. Said they were taking over. Next thing we know Mac's nowhere to be found. … Here comes Reed. … You okay?"He asked noting how pale the young man looked.

Reed Garrett ducked under the police tape and nodded at Sheldon as Don came over. "What the hell is going on?" he asked. "Do you know where they've taken Mac because they won't tell me anything other than he's ..?"

"..._assisting them with their enquiries?_... Yeah we know. They're giving us the run around too." sighed Don. He glanced at Jo who moved away from them to answer her phone. "What did they want to know?"

"It was kinda' weird. Obviously they wanted to know what happened. I told them I was inside the restaurant and didn't see anything. But then they started asking me if Mac had said anything about his time in the Marines. Had he kept in touch with his old buddies? What did he do during the Gulf War?" At everyone's look of surprise. "Yeah that's what I said. Hey I was only a kid back then. I didn't even know him. I knew he'd been in the Marines but I didn't even know he'd fought in the Gulf War."

"Okay. Don, the chief wants us back at the lab now. The rest of you, go home..." Jo glanced at Agent Marsh who was staring at her intently the sneer still on his face. "There's nothing more we can do here."

"What about Mac?" asked Lindsay.

Jo looked back at Agent Marsh who turned his back on her. She sighed. "It looks like he's on his own … for now. I'll call you as soon as I know something."


	3. Chapter 3

**_A/N : I do hope you are enjoying the story so far. Thank you dear reviewers for leaving me a word or two. It's nice to know if the story's going okay ;-)_  
><strong>

**Chapter 3  
><strong>

Danny poked at his eggs with his fork and glanced at his daughter as she played with a toy medical kit and a heavily-bandaged teddy bear. He picked up his phone and glanced at the screen.

"Daniel. I swear I will go mad if you look at that phone once more!" Danny looked sheepishly at his mother-in-law and then at Lindsay seated opposite him. "Oh, for goodness sake! Just eat your breakfast and go, the pair of you!" At their look of surprise, she continued. "I am taking my grand-daughter to the zoo and then for ice-cream. I don't need you two in the way." At the words 'zoo' and 'ice-cream' Lucy jumped up sending her 'patient' tumbling off the sofa.

"Yeah, the zoo! Can we see the tigers? Mommy met Daddy at the zoo." Lucy jumped on her grandmothers lap. Danny and Lindsay just grinned at her. Danny decided that he was very lucky when it came to mothers-in-law and told her so.

"Oh stop your fussing! Just you go and make sure that nice Detective Taylor is all right." she beamed as she tickled Lucy under the chin. "We wouldn't want anything to happen to your Godfather now would we?"

Danny threw Lindsay a "What the …?" look but she just rolled her eyes and started clearing breakfast. Danny decided that evidently Mac could be quite the charmer when he wanted.

.

'CSI:NY - CSI:NY - CSI:NY - CSI:NY - CSI:NY'

.

Mac Taylor made his weary way into his office. He took off his coat and hung it up. A small smile lit his face as he gazed down at the person sleeping on his sofa. He sat down on the edge careful not to disturb her and gently brushed away a lock of hair that had fallen across her face. She stirred slightly and stretched out an arm like a cat, accidentally brushing her hand against his thigh. The arm stopped and a frown appeared on her face as she breathed in deeply. Mac leaned over her placing his elbow on the back of the sofa and propped his head on his hand as he watched her. Her hand patted up and down trying to figure out what it was touching. Mac's smile grew a little wider. Suddenly her eyes flew open as she came fully awake.

"Mac? Oh my God!" Jo's face went a bright shade of red as she realized where she had her hand. She snatched it away as though she'd been burnt. "Er … I … er … must have fallen asleep. I was worried about you. Where have you been?" she demanded severely in an attempt to cover up her embarrassment.

"Assisting Homeland Security with their enquiries." Mac arched an eyebrow as a wry smile played across his mouth.

"Oh don't give me that Mac! What the hell is going on?" Jo sat up. She could see how tired he looked. "You haven't changed. You haven't even been home, have you?" Jo noticed that Mac was wearing the same clothes. There were blood stains on his shirt collar and although the cut across his temple and cheekbone looked as though it had been cleaned and closed with butterfly dressings, there still appeared to be blood in his hair. She brought her hand to the side of his face to make a closer inspection turning his chin slightly when they heard a cough at the door.

Sheldon Hawkes smirked at the sight in front of him. "Hope I'm not interrupting." His smirk widened to a grin as they both looked somewhat put out. He advanced further into the room and saw that Jo had obviously been sleeping on Mac's sofa and Mac was still dressed in the same clothes as the previous evening. "You haven't changed." Hawkes bent his head to inspect the cut on Mac's face. "That dressing doesn't look too professional. Are you all right?"

Mac sighed heavily. "To be honest, I've been better but nothing that a shower, a shave and coffee won't fix." he said quietly running his hand over his chin. Both Jo and Sheldon were surprised at the admission, fully expecting to hear Mac's ubiquitous 'I'm fine.' Mac squeezed his eyes shut and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Just give me a few minutes and I'll fill you in on what I know which … to be honest … isn't much."

Twenty minutes later, Mac emerged from the locker room in fresh clothes and made his way to the break room in search of coffee. He glanced at his watch. It was still early and there were very few people in the lab at that time on a Saturday morning. As he approached he saw Danny and Lindsay sitting with Sheldon on the high stools all nursing steaming cups of coffee. They all turned and smiled as he entered though he didn't fail to note the looks of concern on their faces. He smiled and nodded at the unspoken questions.

Jo was pouring another mug of coffee. He watched her put sugar in it and stir it. She smiled as she turned around and placed the mug on the table in front of him next to a glass of water and a box of pain-killers.

"For your headache." she said simply. Mac nodded his thanks, took the box, swallowed two pills with some water and slid into the seat with a sigh.

"We're under strict orders from the chief not to touch this case. Homeland Security are in charge. It's being considered a potential terrorist threat. What can you tell us Mac?" she asked.

"Not a lot. I was asked the same questions over and over. In return they gave me very little information." Mac began. He drained the glass of water. He hadn't realised how thirsty he was.

"About your time in the Gulf War?" asked Danny. At Mac's look of surprise. "They asked Reed about it too."

Mac nodded, his frown deepening. "They wanted to know who I had kept in touch with since I left the service and in particular about Ali Hanin. He was my company's local contact when we were deployed. He acted as guide and translator, basically a local liaison officer. Of course, I knew him but he dealt mostly with my XO and my Gunnery Sergeant. I haven't seen him in almost twenty years. I don't understand the connection and they wouldn't say."

"Could it have been this Hanin in the car last night?" asked Lindsay.

Mac shook his head. "No I don't think so. I only glimpsed his face briefly as a car passed. He looked much younger and I would have said that he was Caucasian not Middle Eastern."

"Do you think he intended to kill you?" asked Danny. Mac looked at him strangely for a moment. "I mean could the explosion have been a deliberate act, one intended to take you with him?"

Mac stared at his coffee, lost in thought. His fingers tightened around the mug as he watched the steam curl towards his face, and he breathed in the aroma of the coffee. "No. I don't believe that was his intention." he said quietly almost to himself.

Before anyone could ask why, Jo's phone rang startling everyone. She tossed her head, making her jewellery jingle as she swung around. "Have you got it? … Ah! You are a genius. … Where are you? … Okay we'll be right there." She swung round as she pocketed her phone. She smiled like a child who knew a secret and wasn't about to let on. "Come along children. It's time for breakfast."

"Breakfast? Great! I'm starving!" Don Flack made an appearance in the doorway. "Thought I'd find you all here. You okay Mac?"

Mac nodded. "You know it's uncanny the way you turn up when food is mentioned." Don grinned as he patted Mac on the shoulder as if to reassure himself that his friend was really okay.

"Well come on..." chided Jo. Mac took another mouthful of coffee and wondered who Jo had spoken to and why she was being so mysterious. But he decided he was too tired to argue. Breakfast sounded like a good idea.

.

'CSI:NY - CSI:NY - CSI:NY - CSI:NY - CSI:NY'

.

The corner diner was still relatively quiet when they entered. There were only a couple of customers sipping coffee at the bar and three construction workers sitting by the window enjoying a hearty breakfast. Mac was surprised to see Adam and Sid waiting for them at the back of the diner where several tables had been pushed together and set ready for them.

Once they had all settled, Jo looked at Adam. "Okay lets have it!"

Adam looked nervous. "Okay I just want you to know I'll deny ever having ..."

"A..dam!"

"Okay. Okay. I got the surveillance footage from last night." He waved a memory stick at them.

"What …?" Mac started with a glare but Jo elbowed him and gave him 'the look.' Mac decided that ignorance was the best policy. "What footage …?" he finished lamely.

"Traffic cams. The pick-up was definitely following you. It arrived outside the lab and waited until you came out. It followed you to Harvey's where you met up with Reed and then again to the restaurant and waited while you ate. This ..." Adam looked around before pulling a photograph from his computer bag under the table. "... is the best picture of the driver that I could get." The young man in the photograph couldn't have been more than 18 years old, with fine features, small round glasses and soft wavy hair. Everyone glanced at Mac as he studied the picture but there was no flash of recognition just a deep look of sadness in his eyes."

"Go on Adam." Mac sensed he had something else to say.

"O..kay. I got the plates. It's registered to an Ali Hanin ..." Adam placed another photograph on the table. "... and this is his driving licence. He has a small home furnishings business about eight blocks from here with an apartment above it. And he rents a small storage facility near the airport." Mac's face registered surprise. He had had no idea that Ali Hanin lived in New York. Everyone peered at the driving licence. Ali Hanin had a long thin intelligent face, with a small moustache and glasses and he appeared to be relaxed and almost smiling in the picture. Mac reached across for the photograph. He smiled slightly as he studied it, as though he was reliving some long forgotten memory. Sid looked at his friend and shook his head. He looked pale and exhausted. Sid glanced at Sheldon who was obviously thinking the same thing. Before he could say anything, Danny piped up.

"Okay, great! Let's see if he's at his place. Perhaps this Ali can tell us what's going on ..." Danny made as though to leave.

"Whoa. Not so fast ..." exclaimed Sid. "He's not there."

"How do you know?" Danny stared at Sid.

"Because he's in drawer number 6." Sid glanced at Sheldon. "He's our John Doe who came in last night." Mac flinched clearly startled. Sheldon reached across for the photograph and nodded as he studied the picture. Before anyone could say anything else, a waitress rushed up with two large platters, one filled with pancakes and the other with crispy bacon. She dumped them unceremoniously on the table and rushed away as the diner owner came up with a coffee pot in one hand and a tureen in the other.

"Right folks!" He said loudly. "Here's your eggs. Who else would like coffee?" He started filling Mac's cup without asking and leant forward whispering quietly. "Sid, men in suits!" He moved down the table filling cups as he went. Glancing over his shoulder Adam and Sid could see two men in dark suits enter the diner and pause in the doorway looking around. "I'll hold 'em off while you hide the evidence." He grinned.

Sid made a grab for the photographs. "Thanks Eddie."

"No problem. Can't stand men in suits myself ..." and then as he realised Mac was dressed in a dark blue suit "...present company excepted." He left without another word and intercepted the two men as the door. Sid hid the photographs under his jacket as Adam pushed his computer bag further under the table. "Eddie's an old friend, I told him we needed a little private time." Sid grinned at Mac's astonishment.

Jo glanced around. "Oh great! It's Marsh and his henchman." At Mac's quizzical look. "He commandeered the crime scene last night." Mac glanced over at the two men. Jo looked around the table. "Well, start eating, this is supposed to be …" Jo broke off not sure what it was supposed to be as Agent Marsh, having brushed off Eddie's attempts at stalling, came over to the table.

Marsh glared around the table before addressing Mac "Detective Taylor? I need a word. You will accompany me." and he stood back as though he fully expected Mac to comply with his demands.

"No" said Mac simply without even looking at him. Mac reached forward and stabbed two pancakes from the dish in front of him and placed them on his plate.

Marsh looked furious, his thin lips pinching together. "Detective Taylor, need I remind you that this is a matter of national security?" he thundered, causing the other diners and Eddie to turn and stare.

"Agent Marsh." Mac rose from in his seat in one fluid movement and turned abruptly to face him. "Need I remind you, that I was dragged away from a crime scene and have spent the last twelve hours in the company of your agents, fully cooperating with your enquiries, answering all your questions to the best of my knowledge without the courtesy of water, food, rest or medical attention. I do not see what else I can tell you. Now unless you wish to share information with me regarding this matter of national security, I would like to enjoy breakfast with my team before I resume my duties as Head of the New York Crime Lab."

Mac's voice was low and menacing. His eyes sent Marsh a warning and his stance suggested that of a predator about to pounce on his prey. Marsh was clearly intimidated and licked his lips nervously. He cleared his throat.

"Perhaps we can … do this later." he mumbled clearly unsure how to deal with the man in front of him.

"I'd appreciate that. I will be in my office at two o'clock this afternoon if that is convenient?" Mac's voice was as hard as stone. Marsh nodded almost imperceptibly. "Good day Agent Marsh." Mac returned to his seat. Marsh had no choice but to leave. The rest of the team watched as Marsh left followed by his lackey.

Jo turned to look back at Mac and placed her hand on his arm. "Mac, you all right?" she asked quietly.

Mac met her eyes and nodded. "Yeah! Let's eat." He smiled but no one failed to miss the tremble in his hand as he reached for his coffee.


	4. Chapter 4

_**A/N. Thank you for reading and reviewing. It warms this wannabe writer's heart to know you are enjoying the story so far. Now all I have to do is fix the plot holes ;-)**_

**Chapter 4**

Sid unclipped his glasses as Jo and Sheldon made their way into autopsy. He pulled the sheet further down the body to reveal the man's chest. "Allow me to present Ali Hanin." He re-positioned his glasses and placed his gloved hand over the victim's throat. "Bruising on the neck." Sid then lifted the man's arm. "More bruising on the arm as though he was restrained. A single blow to the abdomen." Sid simulated the potential blows that had caused the bruising. Sheldon looked quizzically at Sid unsure what was coming.

Jo thought for a moment. "So cause of death was strangulation?"

Sid shook his head, "Natural causes." At their look of surprise. "He suffered from angina. He was taking various medications and had nitroglycerin tablets in his pocket. His heart gave out."

"Time of death?"

"Between 3pm and 5pm." replied Sid as he consulted his notes. "He was found dumped on waste land out by the airport by a man walking his dog at 9:15pm."

"I was on duty and got the call. I arrived at 10.52pm." added Sheldon. "No witnesses. Very little evidence at the scene that hadn't been compromised by the rain. I've got Adam running trace."

"Any clues to how he got there?" Jo raised an eyebrow.

"Let's ask Adam. He's checking traffic cams and surveillance systems." Sheldon smiled at Jo.

Sid looked confused. "I thought he was running trace?"

Sheldon grinned "He's multi-tasking!"

"What about Danny and Lindsay?" Sid peered at Jo over the top of his glasses.

"Oh they've gone shopping!" Sid looked confused but didn't get the opportunity to ask as Jo left with a jingle of jewellery and an enigmatic Mona Lisa smile.

A short while later Jo tip-toed quietly into Mac's office and watched him for a few moments. Mac had promised that he would get a couple of hours rest before Marsh turned up, but judging by the light sheen on his forehead and the rapid movement under his eye-lids this wasn't to be. Jo frowned as she noted his breathing increase in rapidity. As Mac suddenly inhaled and held his breath, Jo felt her heart clench. She watched as a sudden look of intense pain crossed his face. His eyes flew open and Jo jumped as he suddenly sat up, his hand gripping the back of the sofa until his knuckles showed white. She quickly calmed herself and sat down on the edge of the sofa just as he had done some hours earlier. "Mac?"

Mac turned his face to look at her but his unfocussed eyes immediately told her he was somewhere else. "Mac you were dreaming." she said softly placing her hand on his arm, the haunted look on his face momentarily scaring her.

"Jo?" Mac glanced around his office as though he had no idea where he was, and then just as suddenly. "Sorry! What time is it?" He ran his hand over his face and inhaled deeply.

"It's okay. It's not quite two." she answered as she got up allowing Mac to swing his legs off the sofa. He buried his head in his hands. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah! I'm fine. Excuse me." Mac got up and headed straight for the rest-rooms. Jo sighed deeply as she watched him disappear down the corridor. She knew that many veterans were plagued by their dreams, often waking up screaming from th eimages that haunted them. It scared her to think about what plagued Mac's dreams and she shivered as she realized what perhaps scared the most was that Mac hadn't uttered a sound.

Stepping up to the wash-basin, Mac ran the cold water and splashed it onto his face. He stood for a few minutes, his hands gripping the side of the basin with his head bowed. He watched the drops of water trickle away into the sink and allowed the water to cool him, washing away the memories of the dream. He cupped his hands under the running water and scooped up a mouthful, letting the liquid run down his throat in an attempt to remove the dry taste that seemed to have penetrated his mouth. As he slowly raised his head to look in the mirror, it wasn't the reflection of a fifty year old head of the crime lab he saw but that of a younger version, dressed in battle-stained combat fatigues. He looked down at his hands covered in blood and ran them under the water watching it turn pink … "_Captain sir… are you all right?_" The echo of the past reverberated through his head. "_Captain! … Mac!..._"

"Mac..?"

He spun around. "Adam...?"

"Er … I'm sorry … Are you okay?" Adam stammered. "I've got something you might like to see."

Mac switched off the water and reached for some paper towels. Drying his face, he answered. "Yeah, that's great Adam. I'll be right there." As Adam backed out the door he looked back at the mirror. The Marine had disappeared and with him the memories. He closed his eyes for a moment, straightened up and rolled down his sleeves hiding the scar on his left arm just above the elbow. He did up a button on his shirt and straightened his collar. He checked the mirror once more. The head of the crime lab was back. He left to see what Adam had found.

"Okay, I haven't asked for the storage unit's surveillance camera footage because we're not supposed to be touching this case and there are no cameras where Ali Hanin's body was dumped. But I do have footage from the NYPD surveillance camera across the street from the storage unit that Ali Hanin was renting. This is 11 o'clock yesterday morning." Adam turned to the big screen and tapped 'play'. Jo, Mac and Sheldon watched as a blue pick-up rolled up outside the storage facility. The same young man they had seen in the photograph jumped out of the cab and went round to the passenger side door. He helped Ali Hanin down from the truck and they saw him assist Hanin into the storage unit. After several minutes the young man came back out with a crate which he loaded into the back of the truck. He made several more trips then came out again helping Hanin who was leaning heavily on his arm. They both got back into the truck, and drove away. "That's all there is. Now if I had the storage unit's footage ..." Adam left the question hanging.

Mac shook his head. "No, not yet. You've done enough Adam." Mac patted him on the shoulder. "I couldn't ask for more."

Adam beamed at the praise. "Oh oh! Men in suits!" Mac turned to see Marsh still accompanied by the younger Henley enter the building. He glanced at his watch. 2 o'clock. Well at least they were on time. He went out to greet them and showed them into his office closing the door behind him.

"Please take a seat. So Agent Marsh, what can I do for you?" asked Mac as he eased himself into his chair.

Marsh cleared his throat and placed a file on Mac's desk. "These are our preliminary findings. The pick-up was registered to Ali Hanin, a former acquaintance I believe?" Mac nodded as Marsh continued. "The bomb was a crude home-made device, rigged to a simple timer set for 7pm. Our autopsy findings confirm the driver to be a young man of 18 to 20 years of age. This is a photograph from your traffic surveillance system." Marsh placed a photograph similar to the one Adam had shown him a few hours earlier on top of the file. "Do you recognise him?" Mac made a pretence of looking at the picture and shook his head. He was aware of Jo watching him intently through the glass partitions, Sheldon and Adam standing at either side of her like bodyguards.

Marsh didn't seem surprised and placed another photograph on the table. "Have you had any contact with any of the men in this photograph?" Mac picked up the second picture arching an eyebrow in surprise. The group of soldiers were loosely gathered around a Jeep painted in desert camouflage. Mac immediately recognized himself standing next to his second-in-command. His 3 platoon lieutenants were all in the picture in various poses of combat readiness as was his gunnery sergeant, his medical and administrative officers and Ali Hanin.

Mac contemplated the picture for a moment and replaced it on the table for Marsh to see. His finger moved across it as he spoke. "The only person I see on a regular basis is my gunnery sergeant. My XO died some years ago. I have not kept in touch with any of the others." Mac glanced at Marsh expecting more questions but Marsh looked at him strangely for a moment.

"Your gunnery sergeant?" Mac nodded. "You haven't seen any of the others?" he reiterated.

"No. May I ask why you are so interested in the men from my company? If you were to give me an idea what is going on here perhaps we can work together." Mac leant forward in his seat and placed his elbows on his desk linking his fingers together. He stared at Marsh but Marsh merely pursed his lips deepening the sneer on his face. Marsh sniffed shook his head giving Mac the impression that he wouldn't stoop so low.

"The only person I'm interested in is Ali Hanin." Marsh rose from the chair and turned to leave.

"Then you should speak with my ME as Ali Hanin is currently lying on a slab in our morgue." Marsh spun around to glare at Mac who kept his face as neutral as possible. Marsh looked as though he was about to explode as Mac continued. "He was brought in last night while I was … er ... detained with your fellow agents." Mac placed a folder on top of the ones Marsh had placed on his desk. "He was found on waste ground late yesterday evening. It seems he died of a heart attack."

Marsh grabbed the file. He glanced at the summary page and threw it back down on the desk. He glared at Mac for a moment, muttered something that could have been either "thank you" or a somewhat cruder insult. He span around and left without a word flinging open the door to Mac's office. Jo, Sheldon and Adam stood open-mouthed as he stormed down the corridor. His young companion who had still not uttered a word followed him but was looking back at Mac, a curious expression on his face.

As Mac watched them leave, Jo came into his office, an amused look on her face. "What on earth did you say to him?"

Mac put on his very best innocent look which caused Jo to grin even more. "I simply told him that he could find Ali Hanin in autopsy. He didn't take it too well."


	5. Chapter 5

_**A/N. Thank you for reading and taking the time to leave me a review. Because you have all been so encouraging here are two chapters for the weekend. Conclusion next week.  
><strong>_

**Chapter 5  
><strong>

Danny wrapped his arm around Lindsay's shoulders as they strolled along the street. "Men in suits at two o'clock."

"Don't you start!" Lindsay smiled at her husband as she slid her hand around his waist. "Have you been watching war movies again?"

Danny just grinned as they paused to look in a shop window. They adjusted their focus to use the window as a mirror to observe the gallery opposite. The sign "Hanin Textiles" appeared in reverse. The shop appeared closed. Lindsay glanced down the street at the silver Toyota. "Yep, they've definitely got it under surveillance." She lifted her eyes to look inside the shop they were facing. "Come on. I've got an idea." She grabbed Danny's hand and pulled him back down the street the way they had just come grabbing her phone as she did so.

An hour later Danny and Lindsay were in the side alley along side Ali Hanin's shop. "Hey! Watch where you're putting your hands." Lindsay giggled as her husband gave her a leg up, his hand firmly under her bottom.

"Hurry up before they see us." Danny hissed as he leaned out a little from the wall to peer round the corner. Across the street a portly beat cop read the two men in the silver Toyota the riot act about parking next to a fire hydrant. "I know Velasquez can talk your ear off but even he can only distract them for so long." He leaned closer to the wall and watched his wife jemmy the catch on the small window with a pocket knife. Suddenly the weight pressing down on his arms was gone and so was Lindsay.

Her head popped back up at the window. "Come on then ..."

Danny took one last quick look and then pushed himself up and squeezed through the tiny window, quietly dropping to his haunches inside a small back office. Lindsay grinned at him. "I can't believe I let you talk me into this" he whispered. "Where did you learn to do that anyway?"

"Never mind that now. Just check the office and I'll look upstairs. We've got exactly 20 minutes. " Danny peered through the door of the store and lifted his phone to make a quick video of the inside. The camera moved over racks of multi-coloured textiles piled neatly on shelves, beautifully embroidered cushions, a display of intricately woven carpets next to a brightly upholstered chair. Several statues were placed among the displays, as were some pottery bowls and vases, metallic candle holders and lanterns. It was a veritable Ali Baba's cavern. "Strange hideout for a supposed terrorist." thought Danny to himself.

Danny moved over to the desk. Everything was neat and tidy and well ordered. He glanced around the room. Odd, he thought no computer. On a shelf were several box files marked 'Clients' and arranged in alphabetical order. He pulled one or two out and glanced through them noting that they all contained hand-written copies of invoices for goods he had sold. There were also box files for 'Suppliers', 'Tax', 'Rent' and 'Utilities'.

One box file in particular caught his eye. 'Special orders.' He opened that. Inside was several sheets. Danny frowned and snapped a couple of photo's of the most recent ones with his phone. Then he grabbed the file marked 'Inventory' and snapped a few more photos. Next he checked the desk. There was nothing out of the ordinary, just the usual office paraphernalia, some brochures and catalogues and a diary with a week spread over a double page. He photographed several weeks worth and put it back carefully. He checked his watch and wondered what Lindsay was up to.

Upstairs Lindsay had found a small apartment, tastefully furnished with old fashioned, polished wood furniture, soft furnishings in rich reds, ochres and burnt orange. Exotic pictures graced the walls and stone sculptures were placed to be shown to their best advantage. Books in a variety of languages lined one wall. The place exuded warmth and oriental charm yet it had a distinct masculine quality to it with a modern music centre, functional kitchen and several discarded newspapers, the top one left open at the sports pages next to a book on Mesopotamian art. Lindsay was sure that Ali Hanin lived alone. She discretely checked the street. Officer Velasquez had gone, one of the men remained seated in the car but she couldn't see the other. She hoped he hadn't decided to check the place out and had merely gone for coffee. Quickly she searched the rest of the room and the bedroom but found nothing of interest.

Danny came upstairs. "How are you doing babe?" he whispered.

Lindsay checked her watch as she realised her time was just about up. "Just that room to do." She pointed to a door. "Keep an eye on our friends outside." Danny moved discretely over to the window. Lindsay checked out the room. It was small, simply furnished and quite different from the rest of the apartment. It was a typical American boys' bedroom with blue walls, pictures of baseball stars and a US Marine Corps poster. She smiled at the Superman comforter and the comic books piled on the floor. A small television covered with stickers was perched on a table at the foot of the bed. She glanced at the old music system and found only a few modern CDs. There were no books other than the comics. She checked the closet and found only a few clothes hanging up on one side, shoes and sweaters piled onto the shelves on the other.

"Babe?" Danny's head peered round the door. "We gotta go. They're on their coffee break and Velasquez is heading back down the street."

Just as she was about to rejoin Danny she noticed a plain wooden box pushed in among the jumpers She looked inside and pulled out some photographs. Flicking through them, her eyes widened in surprise. She stuffed them into her pocket replacing the box where she had found it and, making sure nothing was out of place, she closed the door and left.

.

.

Arriving back at the lab Lindsay and Danny were surprised to see the entire team minus Mac and Don gathered around the conference table silently reading a number of files. Jo motioned at them to take a seat and returned to the file she was reading. They glanced at one another and sat down. Danny put the tablet PC he was carrying on the desk in front of him.

"So how was your shopping trip?" asked Jo smiling at Danny and Lindsay as she put down her file.

"Oh just fine." Lindsay grinned. "We found some lovely new curtains and cushion covers. We put in an order for a new carpet."

At everyone's looks of confusion Danny continued in a more serious tone of voice. "There was nothing unusual at Hanin Textiles. It looks like a regular business. He imports primarily textiles from all over the Middle East. There are also some handicrafts. He has meticulous records of all sales and purchases. All hand-written. No computers anywhere. We will check with IRS but from what I could see it all looks above board. He has some special orders for someone called Yates, regular shipments of sculptures." Danny consulted the tablet PC. "There was nothing out of the ordinary in his diary. He had a doctor's appointment, an appointment with his accountant and a meeting scheduled with this Yates yesterday at 4pm."

"That was well after he and the boy left the storage facility – perhaps they were going to deliver them to this guy Yates? … I pulled the NYPD traffic cams from across the road." Adam finished by way of explanation as Danny looked at him questioningly.

Mac came back into the room, a file in his hand. "I've spoken to a friend of mine from my Marine days. I've a list of all members of my company and their current status and whereabouts. I asked about Ali Hanin. He assisted the US government as guide, translator and liaison officer and emigrated to the US 12 years ago to set up his import business. According to this he has no family. There are no outstanding warrants. Not even a parking ticket. He's been a model citizen." Mac threw the file down next to Adam before asking : "Anything as to the identity of the boy in the pick-up.?"

"Mac, I found these photos at Hanin's. I'm fairly sure that this is him. Can you tell us who the other men in this photograph are?" Lindsay handed Mac the photographs she had found in the box. Everyone looked at him intently as he looked at the top-most picture. The colour drained from his face. He whispered a quiet excuse and abruptly turned and left the room.

"I'll take that as a yes." murmured Danny as everyone looked at one another.

For a moment no one moved moved then Jo got up and rushed after Mac. "I'll be back." she threw over her shoulder. She slowed as she approached his office. She watched him sink down onto his sofa and scatter the photographs on the table in from of him. "Mac?" Jo sat down next to him. She glanced at the pictures, recognizing one of Mac with another soldier, a happy relaxed pose. From their body language the two men clearly knew one another well. She turned to face Mac who buried his head in his hands.

"Oh God Jo! What is going on?" Jo was horrified to hear the pain and desperation in Mac's voice. His shoulders were slumped and for a moment he seemed a mere shadow of the man she knew him to be. He inhaled deeply as though trying to draw strength from the air around him. He rubbed his hands over his face and reached for one of the photographs.

Jo looked at it closely. She recognized Hanin on the right, with his arm around a younger version of the boy from the security footage. Another man and an older boy in military uniform stood on the left. The picture had clearly been taken at a graduation ceremony. They were all dressed formally and a draped Stars and Stripes was visible in the background.

Mac's voice was so quiet she could barely hear him. "The man on the left is Mike Donnelly and these are his two sons, James and Nigel. Mike and I joined the Marines at about the same time." Mac paused and swallowed. "He was my closest friend and ... the best man at my wedding. He retired from the corps shortly after I did and went back home to Boston. His wife died when Nigel was born and he raised those two boys on his own. James joined the Corps a few years ago just before Mike died. I believe Nigel went to live with an aunt. "

"What's the relation between Mike and Ali Hanin?" asked Jo.

"Mike was my XO. He and Ali worked closely together and certainly got on well. I didn't know that they had kept in touch though. Oh God Jo! It was Nigel in the pick up. I didn't recognize him. I haven't seen him since he was a small boy. Mike invited me to James' graduation but I couldn't make it and when he died ... I was tied up in the Compass Killer case. I lost touch with the boys after that..." Mac's voice faded away and his breathing grew ragged."I should have made the effort. Dammit. He was my best friend."

Jo could hear the anger in his voice and she suddenly realized why he was acting so strange. "Mac, you couldn't have prevented this."

"I should have kept in touch Jo. Mike was my best friend. I should have looked out for his boys. Oh God, how am I going to tell James his brother is dead?" Mac buried his head in his hands again. Jo couldn't find the words to comfort him so she wrapped her arm around his shoulders.

There was an awkward silence in the conference room as Mac and Jo left. No one was quite sure what to do. Slowly Lindsay got up and walked down the corridor. She stopped halfway and could see Mac seated on his sofa next to Jo their heads close together. She watched as Mac put his head in his hands and Jo put her arm around his shoulders. Lindsay turned back and regained her seat. The others looked at her expectantly.

"I think they need a few minutes." she said quietly. "Anyone want coffee?" As Sid started to reply Adam absently opened the file that Mac had left.

"Danny you did say Yates?"

"Yeah! Why?"

"Because, there's a Simon Yates listed here as one of the Marines that served with Mac. And it says he's the owner of a bar just off Lexington."  
><strong><br>**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6  
><strong>

Don Flack cruised passed the security unit on his friend's Yamaha, the visor of the helmet concealing his identity. He'd already been past Ali Hanin's shop and the lab. All were under surveillance. As he checked out the guys in a silver Toyota parked just down the street from the lock-up, he noticed a familiar figure walking up to the security guard. Don pulled the bike round the corner, flicked out the stand and turned to watch.

"Reed! What the hell are you playing at?" he muttered. He watched as Reed had a short conversation with the security guard who then left his office and accompanied Reed inside. Don checked his watch. He got off the bike and peered around the corner. The two guys in the silver Toyota were definitely taking an interest. However it was only a few minutes before Reed reappeared smiling. He pointed to what looked like a brochure, shook hands with the guard and left. Don risked another look around the corner. The two guys in the silver Toyota had relaxed and Reed was now heading past them still looking at the brochure. He approached the corner where Don was leaning against the wall. Don pushed off the wall blocking his way and flicked up the visor as Reed ground to a halt in front of him.

"Hi Detective Flack." he stuttered. "Fancy seeing you here ..."

"What are you playing at Reed? Does Mac know you're here?" Don tried to look stern but his heart wasn't in it. The kid looked like he was about to have heart failure.

Reed shook his head. "Are you kidding me? He'd probably kill me if he knew." Reed grinned. "I've just been doing a little research. Er … you hungry?"

.

_'CSI:NY - CSI:NY - CSI:NY - CSI:NY - CSI:NY'_

.

Mac hung up the phone and looked at Jo who was sitting across from him. She carefully hid her emotions not wanting Mac to see how concerned she was but she could tell he was drained, physically and emotionally. Mac looked away from her refusing to meet her eyes but not before she saw the flood of emotions that threatened to break through. He got up suddenly and turned to look out the window, his back to her.

"James Donnelly is currently deployed in Afghanistan. They're going to get a message to him for me but it may take some time." Mac sighed. He suddenly felt very old and very tired. Breaking news of the death of a loved one was something he'd had to do many times in his life, too many times. This time he somehow felt responsible. Why had Nigel been in that car? Why had it blow up? What was he doing with Ali Hanin? Had Ali been involved in something illegal? The questions whirled around in his head.

"Mac? … Mac!" Jo's voice suddenly registered with him. He hadn't even sensed her move. She suddenly appeared at his shoulder ."Look the others have gone home. There's nothing more we can do tonight. You're exhausted. Please Mac, let's go home."

Mac looked intently at her for a moment. She looked tired and worried. Her eyes bore into his. "Jo I'm sorry. You should be home with Ellie..."

"No Ellie's away with the school soccer team this weekend remember?"

"Oh yeah! I'd forgotten. Sorry! You should go home anyway ..." Mac rubbed the bridge of his nose. The headache was back.

"Not without you ..."

Mac raised an eyebrow and a smirk played across his lips. Jo laughed. "That's not what I meant. I meant ..."

"I know what you meant but how about we go for a drink first. I know this great little bar off Lexington ..."

"Mac Taylor! You are impossible! Can't you stop working for a minute?" Jo threw her hands up into the air setting off her jewellery jingling like bells at Christmas.

Mac smiled. "Hey you can't blame a man for wanting to mix a little pleasure with business!" He moved around her and reached for his jacket. Jo smiled and frowned at the same time unsure how to take that last statement so she decided to play along.

"You buying?" she asked in her most seductive voice. Mac slipped on his jacket and took a step towards her.

"Only for you." he whispered in her ear, his voice low and throaty. Jo shivered slightly as he ushered her out of the door with his hand in the small of her back but her smile reached from ear to ear.

Twenty minutes later, they stepped out of a cab in front of a small discrete looking bar, a neon sign announcing 'Live Music' in the front window. Mac opened the door for Jo with a smile. Jo was surprised as she stepped inside. The place was small but modern with a long bar running down the left hand side. There were several booths, a number of high tables with comfortable bar stools which were replaced with smaller tables nearer to the raised stage where a jazz pianist played quietly. As it was still relatively early there were still plenty of spaces. Mac guided Jo to a booth and waved to the barman who nodded with a smile.

Jo had just settled herself when she noticed the barman limp over. He was a short, wide-chested barrel of a man with close cropped silver blond hair and large muscular arms. He beamed as he approached the table. "And who is this gorgeous lady?"

Mac grinned. "Simon, this is Jo Danville. Jo allow me to introduce Simon Yates, formerly Gunnery Sergeant Yates of the US Marine Corps."

"I'm delighted to meet you." Jo tried to hide her surprise as she shook hands with Simon Yates.

"And I'm delighted to meet you, you beautiful creature!" Simon raised her hand to his lips as Jo laughed.

"I bet you say that to all the girls."

"He does!".

Simon laughed. "So what can I get you folks?" Jo asked for a glass of wine.

"My usual, and some information..." Simon frowned at Mac's serious tone. He nodded and made for the bar. He spoke briefly to a young woman with long blond hair behind the bar and then returned sliding into the booth next to Jo.

"I hope you don't mind if I sit here ..." he grinned as he waggled his eyebrows up and down playfully.

"As long as you behave yourself." replied Mac with mock severity.

"Why Major, how could you suggest such a thing?" They both laughed. "So what's up Mac? "

"Simon, have you heard anything from Ali Hanin recently?"

Simon frowned, tipped his head on one side and studied the scar on the side on Mac's face. "This have anything to do with that?" he asked. As Mac nodded he continued. "I hadn't heard from Ali in years. Then suddenly, he turns up at the bar asking me about some sculptures I've supposedly been buying from him. And now you're here asking me about him?"

"When was this?" asked Jo.

"Day before yesterday. I've never been so surprised in all my life. He looked around the bar as though he was expecting to see some Middle Eastern sculptures that my wife of all people was supposed to have bought." Simon smiled at Jo. "She walked out on me 15 years ago and I told him that blond bitch wouldn't give the time of day never mind buy me a sculpture." Simon's laughter caused a couple of patrons to turn around and smile.

The young woman from the bar wandered over with a tray and placed a glass of wine in front of Jo, and two small beers in front of Mac and Simon. "Here you go Dad."

"Louise, this is Jo Danville … and this is Mac Taylor." Jo acknowledged the young woman's nod, noting the family likeness despite the fact the daughter was much taller and more willowy than her father. However, she couldn't help raising an eyebrow as Louise turned to stare as Simon introduced Mac.

"Major Taylor? Oh I've heard all about you and your crazy escapades from Dad. It's an honour to meet you Sir." she gushed. Jo stared openly at Mac in surprise as he blushed and looked somewhat embarrassed. This was going to be interesting she thought to herself.

"Goodness I haven't seen you since you were a little girl." Mac smiled and shook hands.

"Oh I don't remember that." Louise blushed. "Well I guess I should thank you for saving Dad's ..."

"No thanks necessary ..." Mac cut her off before she could finish. "It was a long time ago." Jo looked from Mac to Louise and then to her father who was grinning widely at Mac's clear discomfort. This evening was turning out to be an eye-opener in more ways than one.

"Oh … excuse me. I have customers ..." Louise left to serve another table.

"She's grown into quite the young lady." said Mac. "And very beautiful."

Simon preened at the praise. "She inherited her good looks from her mother. Fortunately the only thing she inherited from her." Simon laughed again. "I don't know what I would do without her." He watched his daughter for a moment before turning back to look at Mac his face serious once more. "Mac has this got anything to do with that explosion last night?"

Mac nodded. "Ali was found dead last night apparently from natural causes. But the car that exploded was registered to him and..." Mac hesitated and fiddled with his glass before continuing. " … we believe that Nigel Donnelly was killed in the explosion."

"Nigel Donnelly? As in Mike Donnelly's youngest? Oh dear lord!" Simon looked devastated. "Does his brother know?"

"No he's in Afghanistan. I've left a message with a request for him to contact me." Mac looked up at Simon. Jo could see the pain in his eyes and she wished she could reach out to him.

"Simon, it looks as though Nigel was living with Ali. Do you anything about that?"

"Living with Ali? No last I heard he was living with Mike's sister … what was her name? … Beryl … no Brenda. Owns a motel up in the Hampton Bays area. Haven't seen them since Mike's funeral." Jo didn't fail to see the look of guilt that passed over Mac's face at the mention of his friend's funeral. Simon excused himself as the pianist finished his set and headed over to the bar greeting a couple of customers on his way over. Jo watched him as he put on some music and got the pianist a drink. She looked at Mac. He seemed so tired and she could tell that he was lost in thought. As she sipped her drink she watched him in silence for a while. His fingers rotated the glass round and round on it's mat, his eyes seemed focussed on the golden liquid swirling around inside but she knew he was far away. Gently she reached her hand across the table and touched his. The glass stopped moving as he looked up at her.

"Come on Mac. You need to go home." Mac nodded reluctantly and smiled. He placed his hand over hers with a quiet thank you. Jo merely nodded unable to form words as his thumb gently caressed the back of her hand. The movement was so fleeting that she thought she must have imagined it.

They drained their drinks and went over to the bar. Simon shook his head refusing to take money. As Mac was about to insist, he merely said. "Come play for us again some time. It's been too long. By the way now I think of it. Ali took a lot of interest in these ..." he gestured to a number of photographs hanging over the bar, showing Simon in his Marine days dressed in fatigues although some were wedding pictures with him in full dress blues. "He wanted to know what Johnnie Finch is up to these days." he said gesturing to one of the wedding photographs.

"You still in touch with him?" asked Mac.

"Nah not really … he comes by occasionally when he's in town but he's always travelling somewhere. He always was a restless soul and even more so since his divorce."

Mac and Jo said their goodbyes. Mac hailed them a cab and gave Jo's address. "Who's Johnnie Finch?" she asked.

Mac frowned. "He was one of my platoon commanders. A little impulsive at times but a damned good soldier! I wonder why Ali wanted to know about him."

"And why did he think that Simon Yates wife was buying sculptures from him?" pondered Jo.

They rode in silence for a few minutes. As the cab pulled up in front of Jo's building Mac asked the driver to wait and walked Jo to the door. As Jo was wondering what to say, Mac took her by surprise as he leaned in close with his hand lightly on her waist. The fresh tangy scent of his cologne filled her nostrils as he gently placed a kiss on her cheek and whispered thank you in her ear. Jo felt as though she was hypnotized, unable to move or to respond. Before she knew it he was gone. Mac paused by the cab and looked at her intently obviously waiting for her to enter the building. She turned and pushed open the doors, and made her way over to the elevator. As she waited for the elevator she couldn't help but look back and she was surprised to see Mac still waiting, his face unreadable. Mac got in and the cab pulled away. Jo stepped into the elevator and leaned against the cool glass of the mirrored interior; the only things that her mind registered was the soft ding as she reached her floor and the pounding of her heart. Her thoughts otherwise occupied as she searched in her purse for her keys, Jo was completely oblivious as the door to the service stairs opened quietly and a shadowy figure appeared silently behind her.  
><strong><br>**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Mac pushed his key into the lock and began to open the door. He froze as he realized that the lights were on and sounds of movement were coming from inside his apartment. Cautiously he pushed the door open, his hand automatically going to his hip and flipping open the safety catch on his holster. Not sensing anyone at the other side of the door he opened it only to come face to face with Don coming out of his kitchen with chopsticks in one hand and what smelt like sweet and sour pork in the other. For a second they stared at one another like rabbits caught in headlights until a voice from Mac's left drew them from their surprised stupor.

"Mac! Perfect timing! I think we may have something for you."

Mac looked over to see Reed chewing on a spring roll with one hand and clicking his mouse with the other. The coffee table was almost invisible, being hidden by two laptop computers, a portable printer, reams of paper, a Chinese takeaway, beer bottles and what looked like his photograph album. But what was most surprising was that Adam was sitting next to him on Mac's sofa looking rather guilty with a beer bottle in one hand.

A wry look crossed Mac's face. Dammit he was too tired and confused to ask why Adam was there, what they had been doing, and whether it was legal or not. He hung up his coat and looked at them.

"Please tell me you haven't drunk all my beer?"

Don laughed. "Nah, we've left one for you." he quipped. Mac smiled and Adam looked somewhat less guilty.

Ten minutes later, Mac had changed and was sitting with the others with a beer in one hand. He looked expectantly round the table. Adam and Reed looked at Don clearly expecting him to take the lead.

Don finished his mouthful of Chinese food with a gulp and washed it down with a swig of beer. "Okay. First of all we've been through the list of your marine buddies that you gave Adam, checking their whereabouts and we now have a short-list of men in the New York area. There's Simon Yates who you and ...er Jo ... have just been to see." Don wiggled his eyebrows up and down as Mac threw him his famous Taylor glare. "and Jonathan Finch who's working for a private security company in Brooklyn although he's currently out in Iraq baby-sitting some oil executives."

Mac nodded but didn't say anything as he took in this information. He sensed that there was more to come so he let Don continue.

Second of all, Reed here has done some checking around Ali Hanin and his business " At Mac's look of concern. "No don't worry he seems perfectly legit but we think someone may have been using his business to illegally import stuff into the country."

"Stuff?" asked Mac.

"Antiquities." clarified Reed. "Since the Gulf war there are huge numbers of looted antiquities that still haven't been recovered. There is an enormous market for these pieces in the US. Now I got in touch with a friend who has done some work on this. Mostly the looting and smuggling is done by organised bands who then use the money from the sales to fund insurgents. I'm thinking that maybe this is why Marsh and his pals are involved. They're thinking that this could be a source of money for some home-grown terrorists."

Mac nodded. "Possible. What makes you think that they were using Ali Hanin's business?"

Reed looked a little uncomfortable but continued. "I … er … checked out the warehouse where he stores his stuff. The security guard was pretty helpful. It's a boring job and he seemed quite happy to have someone to chat to." At Mac's look of displeasure. "I know … I know … just hear me out!" Mac capitulated so Reed grinned and carried on. "Generally Hanin, accompanied by his young friend Nigel, visited the lock-up once or twice a month to bring in new stock and restock the shop. He mostly imports carpets and textiles but also some ceramics. Now on Thursday they came in to move some stuff and unusually, according to the security guard, they opened the cases right there in the lock-up. Normally they just load them up and leave. But this time the guard heard something break so thinking they might need help he went over to check. One of the ceramics had shattered on the floor and Hanin and Nigel were looking at something among the debris. The security guard said that Hanin was furious at someone called Yates. Anyway they cleared up the mess but the next day they came back and loaded up all the crates leaving the carpets and textiles. The security guard said that they were in a big hurry and he also said Hanin seemed worried and looked really ill."

Mac nodded. "Simon Yates said Ali had been asking about sculptures his wife was buying. The strange thing is that Simon's wife walked out 15 years ago. He said she wouldn't give him the time of day let alone a sculpture. Anything else? "

Adam picked up the story "I checked the records that Danny and Lindsay found in Hanin's shop. All the orders for this Yates came from one supplier, and all were sculptures. Mostly there were orders for three or four items every six months or so. Except this month. Yates supposedly ordered 18 sculptures. A big difference, enough perhaps to make Ali suspicious …?"

Mac nodded. "Possible. But where did he take them?"

"I don't know but wherever it was it's about two hours drive from the mid-town tunnel." Adam looked very pleased with himself at Mac's surprise. "I thought I would check the toll booth cams. The pick-up left the storage facility shortly after 11 o'clock and returned via the mid-town tunnel just after 5 o'clock. Allowing around 30 to 40 minutes unloading that means he must have driven just over two hours before turning back. The crates were in the back when he left but not when he came back."

Mac nodded. He was exhausted and his head was pounding. He tried to get his mind around the information he had been given but with so little sleep in past 48 hours plus the beer and not much food, his brain wasn't working. The others could see how beat he was.

Don made a grab for the leftover food on the table and began clearing it away. "Look Mac. It's getting late. The others have all gone home. Why don't we sleep on it and see what tomorrow brings? Yeah?"

Mac smiled. "Yeah. I got to admit I can't get my head round this right now."

Don grinned at Mac's admission. "Well you can sleep tight with your baby-sitters right across the street. "

"What? What baby-sitters?" Mac's head shot up in surprise.

"I checked. Our friend Marsh has people sitting outside Hanin's shop and his lock-up. And it looks like he's got a couple watching you too. I saw them at the lab and they pulled up outside a few minutes ago just after you arrived."

Mac crossed over to the mezzanine and looked out the side window.

"Blue Taurus." shouted Don.

Sure enough Mac could just about make out a blue Taurus parked so as to see the front of his building and the alley between the two complexes. "Sonofabitch!" he whispered to himself.

Don and Adam took their leave as Reed finished clearing up.

"You okay with me staying another night Mac?" Reed asked out of politeness knowing exactly what Mac's answer would be.

Mac nodded. "Of course Reed. Shouldn't you be back posting your story? You're gonna miss your deadline."

Reed shook his head. "Nah. I can still do that and stick around to help you out. Besides I owe you one." He smiled as he headed towards the spare room.

Mac called after him. "Thank you Reed."

Reed turned back. "Hey that's what family are for."

Mac smiled to himself. He gathered up the files that Adam had left together with the print-outs and, tucking them under his arm, made his way to his room. He threw them down on the bed and used the bathroom. His head was pounding but he still picked up the top file and looked down the list of names. He flung himself down on top of the covers and nodded to himself as he recalled the names. He smiled as he read his own name and 'NYPD', that of Yates listed as 'bar tender'; he shook his head, not sure that Simon would be happy with that. His eyebrows raised to see that Cortez was in Nebraska listed as a Park Ranger and that Henley was at the Pentagon. His face fell as he read that both Jameson and Sanders as well as Donnelly were listed as 'deceased'. Mac leaned back into the pillows and closed his eyes. The names and faces floated in and out of his mind as he succumbed to his exhaustion and slowly the file fell from his hand.

_The dust whirled in the air making it impossible to see his hand in front of face. He inched his way forward across the rough ground, sharp stones digging into his elbows and knees. Despite the scarf across his nose and mouth the dust seemed to get into every orifice. He felt as though he was choking. It was hard to hear above the howling wind but he had to keep going. The sound of mortar fire sounded distant in the dust storm but he knew he was getting closer. How far had he come? No he couldn't think about that now. Just keep going. Don't stop. Ignore the cuts and bruises, the aching muscles. Just keep going. The sharp retort of a rifle came from his left. He was closer than he thought. The dust continued to swirl but a sudden lull in the storm cleared the air in front of him for a few seconds and he glimpsed the transport some fifty yards away, it's side peppered with bullet rounds. He must be almost under the bunker now. He inched forward another few feet and listened. Nothing. He continued some more and then he froze to the spot. His knee had touched something cold and metallic through the tear in his pants. He knew he was in trouble. Sweat broke out on his brow as he slowly twisted around. He reached down with is finger-tips to feel the edge of the land-mine. The wind began to calm and the dust began to settle. He could see the transport again, more clearly this time and he thought he heard moaning but perhaps that was just the wind. Looking up he realized that the bunker was directly above him, a rifle barrel clearly visible. It moved. If the man holding it leant forward and looked down he was a dead man … if he moved his knee he was a dead man … if he did nothing, the men in transport would be dead men too._

Mac awoke suddenly, sweat running down his neck, his breathing uneven. He automatically grabbed his phone.

"Taylor." he whispered, his voice hoarse. He blinked his eyes to focus on the clock. 6am.

"Mac?" the fear and trembling in the voice on the other end of the phone were evident.

He sat up. "Jo?"

"Mac, there's something I need you to do."  
><strong><br>**


	8. Chapter 8

_A/N : Thank you for reading and for all your reviews. I am very encouraged by your comments. This is a bit of a filler before we get to the action...so a little patience please. ;-)  
><em>

**Chapter 8**

The next morning Danny wandered into the lab to find it almost deserted except for Adam who was poring over some print-outs.

"Shouldn't you be entertaining your mother-in-law?" he asked as Danny wandered in.

"Nah … thought I'd let them have a girl's morning … thing … you know … whatever ..." Danny rocked back on his heels and rolled his eyes thinking that actually they were probably glad to be rid of him. "What are you looking at?"

"Ali Hanins' phone records." replied Adam.

"I thought we weren't supposed to be touching this case."

Adam grinned. "Well we're not. We're investigating urgent anonymous calls coming in for Mac." As Danny looked confused Adam continued. "The switchboard got a number of calls for Mac yesterday from the same number. Mac was out all afternoon at the D.A.'s wrapping up the Hutchings case. I checked the number and it belongs to Ali Hanin. Now all those calls are recorded. The person calling wouldn't leave his name but kept calling back as the switchboard operator told him Mac was due in the office later. The last call was just before 4 o'clock and I've got a request in with the operator to see if they can tell me where he was when he placed the calls.."

"Meanwhile, I have also been running trace on Ali Hanin's clothes ..." added Adam "... and they're covered in carpet hairs. Ran them against the database and they're consistent with the kind of carpet used on Land-Rover LR2s. Also found some long black hairs, human, probably female based on the length and curl, and traces of hair lacquer. Running them for DNA but that will take a while. There's a partial print on the belt buckle and also some others on the bottle of medication but not enough to get any hits."

"Is anyone else in?" asked Danny looking around surprised not to see either Jo or Mac though he knew that Mac probably needed a lie-in. He shook his head at the thought strange concept of Mac having a lie-in.

"Yeah the Doc is down with Sid attempting to lift some partials from Ali Hanin's throat. We hoping to combien them to get a viable print to run in AFIS. Haven't seen anyone else yet."

"Guys!" They both turned to see Don striding down the corridor followed by Reed. "Has anyone seen or heard from Mac?" As they shook their heads, Don continued. "He's disappeared."

"He's always up early and when I realised how late it was, I went to check on him." Reed looked worried. "I mean he looked awful yesterday. I just wanted to make sure he was all right. There was no sign of him. His bed didn't look like it had been slept in and there were papers all over it. And he left his cupboard doors open. I can't believe he would just take off without saying something."

As they all looked at one another, Danny had a thought. "Has anyone seen Jo?"

As Don grabbed his phone and started calling, Adam scooted his chair over to a computer, hesitated for a moment, and muttering something that sounded like 'he's gonna kill me' started typing away furiously.

"Jo's phone is going to straight to voice-mail." announced Don as he started dialling another number. "Mac's is the same." Adam's chair skidded across the floor as he moved to a second computer and started typing. He hit the enter key and skidded back to the first keyboard.

"Come on. Come on." The computer bleeped.

"Okay Mac is … huh?" Adam flinched slightly, his face a mask of confusion. "He's in the Hamptons." Adam's chair skittered once more across the floor as the second computer bleeped. "Mm … looks like Jo's phone is unreachable. Could be turned off or out of battery."

.  
><em>'CSI:NY - CSI:NY - CSI:NY - CSI:NY - CSI:NY'<em>

.

Jo wriggled uncomfortably. Her wrists were sore from trying to detach the tape that bound them to the arms of the chair. Her head was pounding and she still felt sick from the chloroform. She was also royally pissed. She couldn't believe that she been caught out like that. And now here she was … and there lay the question. Where? The only things she knew for sure was that it was cold and that the floor was bare concrete apart from the square of carpet that her chair was placed on. She wriggled her stockinged feet trying to restore some feeling in them. The blindfold prevented her from seeing the room but from the way the sounds echoed she knew it was stark and virtually empty. She was reasonably sure that there was an ornate iron-framed bed on which she had woken up and an upholstered chair in which she was now sitting.

Jo's attention was drawn to the door as she heard the sound of a key turning in the lock. She heard someone enter. Her heartbeat raised a notch and she stiffened involuntarily.

"Bathroom." The woman's voice was as cold and harsh as the first time she had heard it. Jo felt a knife cut through the tape on her wrists. Jo pulled her hands away from the arms of the chair and winced as the glue on the tape pulled at her skin. She rubbed her wrists and then carefully removed the small piece of tape from her mouth taking in several huge lungfuls of air. She felt the woman cut and remove the tape around her ankles. She got up tentatively as the circulation returned to her feet and made to remove the blindfold.

"No!" came the harsh voice "Do not remove the blindfold. Do not speak. Once we have what we want you will be released unharmed."

"Please ..." began Jo but she was unable to go no further as she was struck hard across the face. The slap echoed around the room and Jo staggered feeling a sharp sting on her cheekbone. The woman grabbed at her shoulders.

"Do not speak! Cooperate and you will live."

Jo felt two sets of hands grab her arms. She was startled as she hadn't realised a second person was in the room. She was led down a corridor, up a flight of stairs and pushed through a door. She heard the door lock.

"Fifteen minutes. Replace the blindfold."

Jo cautiously removed the blindfold and blinked in the glare of the harsh light. The bathroom was all white marble. The window had been boarded over. There was nothing other than a toilet and a wash-basin with a bar of soap and some paper towels and a paper cup. She walked over to the mirror and inspected the cut on her cheek where the woman's ring had caught her. Jo sighed. She was trapped.

After fifteen minutes the key turned in the lock and the door was opened. Jo had replaced the blindfold as instructed and she was brought back to the room in which she had first found herself. She was again taped to the chair but at least they didn't gag her. The only thing she had been able to ascertain was that she was in a basement under a house but she could be anywhere and she had no idea how much time had passed. Her phone, her purse, her watch, even her jewellery and shoes had been taken. She wondered if anyone knew that she was missing, if anyone was looking for her. She wondered if Ellie and Tyler were okay and what they were doing but mostly she wondered where Mac was. She suddenly felt very alone.

.

'_CSI:NY - CSI:NY - CSI:NY - CSI:NY - CSI:NY'_

.

Mac Taylor looked at the woman sitting on the edge of the bed. "I am so very sorry." he whispered.

The woman wiped her eyes and looked up at Mac. "You know I always expected to hear that it was James that had been killed, him being in Afghanistan. Not Nigel." she broke off once more as tears overwhelmed her.

Mac pulled a chair from the desk and sat down facing her taking in the room as did so. It was similar to the one that Lindsay had described at Ali Hanin's, a typical teenage boy's bedroom but this one had more things in it. Mementos, model ships and planes carved from wood, photographs in frames. Mac's gaze alighted on one of himself pictured with Nigel's father in their younger days. Funny how it brought back memories of exactly where and when it had been taken. He was surprised to see it sitting there among the boys possessions.

"He was a sweet boy. Very different from his brother. He adored listening to all those tales his father would tell about you. I think he would have liked to join up like his father and his brother but … well he wasn't cut out for it. I don't mean that meanly ..." The woman smiled fondly at the picture. "... he was shy and reserved and quite clever despite the dyslexia. He just wasn't cut out for the marines." she repeated with a sigh.

Mac turned back to face her. "Brenda, anything you can tell me will help. I have to find the crates that Nigel took. It's very important. Did Nigel say what was going on? … Anything at all."

"No I didn't even know he had come back on Friday. He always came back at 7 o'clock for his dinner but when he didn't turn up I thought he was helping Ali. Are you sure he came here?"

Mac rubbed his hands voer his face in frustration. He had been sure this morning when he got the call but now he was less so. Doubt was gnawing at his stomach. Perhaps he had jumped to the wrong conclusion and wasted precious time. He had only a little under ten hours left to find the crates and find Jo. "I thought so. It fitted with him leaving the storage facility near the airport and arriving back in Manhattan. He had more than enough time to get here, unload the crates and return. Is there anywhere he could have hidden the crates?"

"Well it's fairly quiet at this time of year. I guess he could have hidden them in one of the empty rooms ..." Brenda suddenly got up and dried her eyes, a determined look on her face. "Let's find out." She drew a set of keys from her pocket and made for the door. Mac couldn't help but smile; in that instant she looked exactly like her brother when he had been given his orders and had a mission to complete. He sighed as he realized how much he missed his friend.

Half an hour later, they had been through the motel rooms that were vacant with the exception of one. As they moved to the last one Mac noticed chipped paint on the door-frame as though it had been knocked by something large. Brenda put the key in the lock and flipped on the lights. She gasped. Stacked against the wall were four crates. Only one was open. "I'll get a crow-bar." She hurried out of the room leaving Mac to check the open crate. He pushed aside the packing straw and lifted out an unvarnished pottery statue of a fat man seated on a cushion and smoking a pipe. He weighed it carefully in his hands. It was heavier than it's size suggested. He shook it gently but there was no sound of anything inside.

"Oh what the hell ..." Mac didn't have time to waste so he took it over to the desk, took his gun out of his holster, and holding it by the barrel he used the butt to break open the statue. The pottery cracked quite easily. Mac pulled apart the pieces and was surprised to see that the inside was stuffed with straw. He pulled a small cloth-covered bundle from the straw and carefully opened it. His eyes widened at the sight of a solid gold amulet that lay inside. He laid it carefully on the desk and reached back into the crate. He pulled out another slighter larger statue of a man in a turban and long robes and repeated the process. Again he unwrapped the cloth he found hidden there, the golden piece inlaid with precious gems in his hands was quite beautiful. Obviously a piece of jewellery, possibly a hair ornament.

Brenda came back into the room with a crow-bar in one hand. "Oh my! Are they gold?"

"Yes, I believe that they are stolen Mesopotamian artefacts that someone has been smuggling into the country." Mac shook his head.

"Not Ali!" Brenda was quite vehement. "He was a good man. He wouldn't have been involved in anything like this. I do not know what I would have done without him after Mike died. Giving Nigel a job and free board, letting him come back here at weekends to help me out. Even though Ali emigrated here, he still loved his country. He wouldn't steal from it."

"No I don't believe Ali knew that these items were being smuggled in using his business. I think he thought these pieces were special orders for Simon Yates."

"Wasn't he your gunnery sergeant? Big barrel of a man. A real charmer with an eye for the ladies!" Mac laughed at her succinct appraisal. He nodded. "Is he involved?"

"No I don't think so. I think Ali thought that Jonathan Finch might be behind it."

"Johnnie?" Brenda's eyes widened. "Well it's possible I suppose. He did drift a lot after leaving the Corps. He had a lot of trouble finding work until he settled with that security firm a few years back. He does go back to the Middle East now and again." Brenda looked at Mac for a moment. "Mind you, it wouldn't surprise me if that wife of his was behind it. He divorced her you know! Nasty piece of work if you ask me, her and her brother. I don't know why Johnnie married her. A family of crooks is what they are with that big fancy estate over on the coast and all those fancy cars. Diplomats my ass!." Brenda hefted the crowbar and jammed it into the lid of the next crate. "So let's see what else we've got ..."

Mac smiled to himself. Definitely like her brother.  
><strong><br>**


	9. Chapter 9

_A/N : Thank you for reading and for all your reviews. I am very encouraged by your comments. I'm sorry if this is a little slow. I will get to the action soon...promise! ;-)_

**Chapter 9**

"Sid! Come and cast a fresh eye over this and tell us we're missing something." Sheldon sounded exasperated. Having spent four hours looking at the evidence with Danny, Adam, Reed and Don, his head was beginning to ache. Sometimes it was hard to see the wood for the trees. Sid approached the four men and unknowingly adopted a similar stance. They all stood in a semi-circle in front of three glass boards, legs slightly apart, arms folded, tension written in every movement. Sid surveyed the boards intently. His eyes moved over the autopsy reports and photos of Ali Hani and Nigel Donnelly; those he knew by heart. He glanced at the list of Mac's former colleagues with the names of Simon Yates and Jonathan Finch highlighted. He then honed in on the map in the centre. He noted markers for Ali Hanin's shop, the storage unit, the site of the explosion, the mid-town tunnel. Possible itineraries were marked in various colours. He pointed at one spot out in the Hamptons.

"What's there?"

"Mac" answered Adam. "Or at least he was. He's on his way back here. He called a couple of hours ago to say he was coming back and before you ask that was all he said."

"What's there?" Sid reiterated pointing again the marker.

"A motel." Sheldon shrugged. "He wouldn't say anything else. Any results on that print we pulled?"

"Stacey's running it now. No hits so far. Why would Mac go to a motel in the Hamptons?"

"Let's ask him." Danny nodded to indicate Mac was coming down the corridor. All five men swivelled simultaneously as they watched him approach the conference room. He looked like he meant business. Used to seeing Mac in a suit, everyone was surprised to see him dressed in a black t-shirt and cargo pants tucked into military style boots. He was carrying an old army kit bag over one shoulder and a carry-all in the other. He still looked pale and drawn which only served to emphasize the angry looking scar on the side of his face but his mouth was set into a hard line and his eyes blazed with barely suppressed fury. No one spoke as Mac tossed the kit bag onto the floor and carefully placed the carry-all on the table. Mac unzipped the bag and reached inside. He brought out an object wrapped in cloth, uncovered it and laid it on the table for them to see.

"Whoa! Is that solid gold?" Adams eyes widened. Everyone moved closer to get a better look.

"All 18 pieces." Mac confirmed. "Mesopotamian artefacts looted in Iraq and smuggled into the country in the sculptures Ali Hanin ordered for Simon Yates."

"Taylor ...what the hell are you playing at?" The voice echoed down the hall causing them all to jump.

Mac spun round to see Agent Marsh enter the room followed as always by the ever-present Henley. Mac was clearly irritated; this guy was getting to be a nuisance.

"What the hell were you doing at Hampton Bays …?" Marsh stopped himself as he noticed the golden circlet laid out on the table. He looked at Mac and then at the gold and then an almost evil grin came across his face. "I knew I was right to have you tracked. You're a tenacious son of a bitch, I'll give you that." Before he could say another word Mac grabbed him by the lapels and threw him against the glass partition causing everyone in the room to flinch. Mac pushed his fore-arm against Marsh's throat.

"Where is she?" he hissed. Marsh's face began to redden as his air supply was cut off. "Tell me where she is right now. Where is Jo Danville?" Henley stepped up to Mac and grabbed at Mac's arm. "Sir please." he began as he pulled Mac away. However, Marsh recovered quickly enough to pull his weapon and point it towards Mac's chest. Mac didn't even flinch though Henley stared at his boss in obvious shock.

"You will stand down Detective Taylor." he spat. "Your involvement ends here and now. This is a matter of national security."

"But Sir ..." Henley began only to have Mac shrug him off and step forward till the gun was touching his chest and forcing Marsh to flinch slightly. His voice was low and menacing. "The only thing I am interested in right now is the whereabouts of Jo Danville." His eyes bore into Marsh. "Tell me where she is and what the hell is going on."

Marsh swallowed as his eyes flicked between Mac and the others in the room who were staring at him in horror. "I … I don't know and I am not at liberty ..."

"Don't give me that ..." spat Mac. " … I swear if any harm comes to her I will hold you personally responsible."

"This is out of my hands. You are in way out of your depth." he stammered.

"Like hell I am." Mac pushed against the gun once more, forcing Marsh to take a step back.

Henley grabbed Mac's arm and whispered. "Sir, this is not the way."

There was a few seconds stand-off between the two men. As Mac backed off Marsh put away away his gun and glared at him. "There are channels to go through and procedures to be followed Detective. I can assure you that they will be followed to the letter. We will do everything in our power to find the whereabouts of Detective Danville. However if I discover that you or any of your colleagues have interfered in my operation, I will personally hold you responsible and I will ensure that neither you nor they will ever work in law enforcement again. Henley, take that bag."

With those words he flung himself out of the door and stormed down the corridor. Henley hesitated and then moved over to the table and gathered up the golden circlet replacing it in the carry-all. As he pulled the bag towards him he 'accidentally' knocked Danny's mobile phone to the floor. He bent down to pick it up. As he moved to replace it on the table he looked directly at Mac.

"Don't forget that we know where you are at any given moment." He placed the phone carefully back on the desk tapping it with his finger and then lowered his voice. "My father sends his regards." Henley smiled, grabbed the carry-all and left.

For a few seconds no one in the room moved. They all stared at Mac who in turn was staring after the quiet young man who had followed Marsh out of the building. Mac looked down at the phone and frowned. He reached forward and pulled out a folded piece of paper that Henley had carefully concealed under the phone as he replaced it on the table. Mac opened the paper, a brief look of surprise coming over his face. He refolded the paper and put it in his pocket.

Just as Danny was about to ask what everyone else was thinking... "Where is Jo?" ...a young woman in a white coat entered.

"I'm sorry to interrupt sir..." she began as she smiled at Mac looking him up and down. "... but Dr Hammerback … Dr Hawkes … you said this was urgent. I got a hit on the print you lifted." She held out a manilla folder.

Sheldon leapt forward and took it. "Thank you Stacey." Sheldon immediately turned to show it to Sid.

Stacey nodded, glanced once more at Mac's clothing and smiled as she left. Don threw a questioning look at Mac who looked bewildered. "What?" However his question wasn't to be answered as Adam received a call and excused himself and Sheldon turned to the others.

"We have a suspect – an Amir Khalim." Sheldon sat down at the terminal at the end of the conference room table and after typing a few commands, a photograph of a young man in early twenties appeared on one of the screens. He had thick wavy hair combed straight back and he was staring sullenly at the camera "We found a thumb print on Ali Hanin's neck which matches a partial lifted from his belt but no match to the partials from the medicine bottle in his pocket. Now according to this Amir Khalim was involved in an altercation with a security guard outside a bank a month ago but the assault charges were dropped."

"Khalim?" Reed looked confused. "I did an article a few months back on a Trade Summit. I'm sure that name came up." Reed started typing furiously on his laptop. Danny and Don moved to look over his shoulder. "Yes here we are, this says that Youssef Khalim was lead negotiator for the visiting delegation. Think they're related?"

Sheldon typed some more. "Possibly, says here that the bank settled the matter privately in order to avoid … and I quote … a diplomatic incident."

While he was talking Reed continued to search information. "Here's a photograph from the opening of the Trade Summit." He hit the enter key and Don and Danny leaned closer for a better look.

"Let me transfer that to the big screen." Reed leaned to one side and Danny typed a few commands. The photograph appeared on the centre screen. Everyone stepped closer. The photograph showed a number of men and women in formal attire, the two centre figures shaking hands and smiling for the camera.

"The man in the centre is Youssef Khalim." Reed clarified. Sheldon got up and looked at the picture. There was a vague family resemblance to the young Amir but his brother was much older making hard to see. He pointed to a younger man on the edge of the group.

"And here is Amir Khalim."

"And the woman in the dark blue dress is Someya Khalim." Everyone turned to stare at Mac as he recognized the woman from one of the pictures hung over Simon's bar. "She's Jonathan Finch's ex-wife." Mac shook his his head. "I'll be damned. Brenda was right." he said to himself.

"Do you think they're responsible for smuggling the gold into the country?" asked Reed.

Mac nodded. "Very possibly but the question is … what else are they involved in? Marsh and his cohorts would only be involved if there was a threat to national security. They must think that there's a terrorist threat too."

"Have we any evidence of that?" asked Sheldon.

This time Mac shook his head. "No and I'm not sure that they do either otherwise they would already have moved in on them, diplomatic immunity or not."

"Why take Jo?" asked Reed.

"For the gold … they must have thought that Mac could get it for them" Danny shrugged his shoulders.

Don was looking at the picture more closely. "Can you enlarge that portion with the guy standing at the back?" He pointed to a man standing in the background slightly away from the main participants. Danny leaned over Reed's shoulder and typed a few more commands and the picture was enlarged. The man was clearly looking away from the camera as though not interested in the main event. An earpiece dangled from his right ear.

"He was one of the guys watching your place." Don turned to face Mac. "In the blue Taurus. Dammit they weren't Marsh's men watching you. They're Khalim's men."

Mac looked thoughtful for a moment then looked at Danny's phone on the desk. "_Don't forget that we know where you are at any given moment._" Henley's voice echoed in his head. "Marsh didn't need to have me watched. He was tracking my phone. He knows where I've been all along. And if Khalim has had men following me then they would have seen me drop Jo off at her apartment ..." Mac's voice trailed away as he recalled that evening, how much it had helped having her with him, her looks and words of understanding and support, her comforting arm around his shoulders. He hadn't known what had possessed him but he couldn't help himself as he kissed her goodnight. At that moment Mac could have kicked himself. He'd put a target on her back! They were using her to force his hand. He was suddenly startled out of his reverie.

"Do you think he tracking all our phones?" asked Danny. Mac glanced at Danny and then at the others. "Marsh?"

"Er .. if he wasn't he probably is now." Mac ran his hand down the back of his head as he sifted the information in his mind. He had only one priority - he had to find Jo and he had only six hours left till they called.  
><strong><br>**


	10. Chapter 10

_A/N : Thank you for reading and for all your reviews. I am very encouraged by your comments. I apologise for the slip-up in the previous chapter. I had assumed that the rest of the team would have worked out that Jo was missing but I should have made that clearer. Ah well you live and learn. So on with the story...  
><em>

**Chapter 10**

"Jo called me at six this morning." Mac sighed as he recalled his early morning wake-up. He had fallen asleep on top of his bed and woken from a dream to the sound of Jo's voice. _"Mac, there's something I need you to do."_ Mac leaned back in his chair. "She said that I had to find the crates that Nigel had taken. She said she was fine and wouldn't be harmed provided we return the sculptures to them by midnight tonight. They will contact me again at 9pm with the drop point."

"But we no longer have the gold and Marsh is monitoring our communications." Danny's hands punched through the air emphasising his anger and frustration. "What the hell are we going to do?"

"Er Boss. I have something... " Everyone had been looking at Danny so no one had noticed Adam come back in. "Ali Hanin called the switchboard yesterday looking for you. The calls were recorded and I analysed them. He was by the coast – sea, gulls in the background. I got the network operator to locate the origins of the calls. They were only able to narrow it down to this area of coast near Glen Head." Adam marked a circle on the map.

"Hmm." Sid frowned. "That's on the way back from the Hampton Bays. It's not far from the country club. I know the owner well. They have a fabulous chef. His Escalope Milanaise is out of this world...!"

"Adam, do we have an address for Someya Khalim … try under Finch?" Mac asked interrupting Sid's monologue on the gastronomic delights of the country club. He glanced at his friend knowing that his stories, as everyone called them were just a way of deflecting the horrors that they saw every day. Mac could tell Sid was upset about Jo. He had taken quite a liking to her. And he wasn't the only one...

Adam moved over to the console and looked up the DMV database. "According to her driving licence, yeah, she lives here." Adam added a marker to the map on the board near the coast and well within the zone he had marked. Mac forced his attention back to the matter at hand.

"Would Nigel have had time to drive out to the motel, unload the crates, drive Ali to Glen Head and still back to the mid-town tunnel?"

Adam thought for a minute bouncing his head lightly from side to side as he calculated the distances and times. He then looked back at Mac and nodded. "Easily."

Mac got up and walked over to the boards. He looked at each one carefully occasionally touching his finger to a map or photograph. He then stood immobile in front of the map for a few minutes. The others looked at one another but remained silent. One of Mac's great talents was sifting and ordering information and they knew that he was planning something. Suddenly he turned and looked at Sid, a strange expression on his face. He then turned back to the map. Everyone looked questioningly at Sid who merely shrugged at a loss to what Mac was thinking. Mac reached into his pocket and pulled out the piece of paper Henley had left and looked at it intently. He turned around slowly.

"Don't even think about it Mac." Don glared at him jabbing a finger in his direction. Mac arched an eyebrow. "You were about to tell us all to go home and then you were going to run off and do a one-man G.I. Joe rescue." The tiniest of smiles crossed Mac's face.

"Actually..." his smile got a little wider. "... more of a Sgt. Rock rescue but like any good soldier I was thinking more of a coordinated team effort." Everyone sat up a little straighter and watched him intently. Mac's face became serious once more. He opened his mouth to speak but was again interrupted, this time by Danny.

"And you can skip the part about if anyone wants out … no shame … etcetera ... etcetera ...okay?"

"Right!" added Sheldon. Sid, Adam and Reed all nodded in agreement.

Mac looked around the table at the determined faces and shook his head in resignation. He hadn't doubted for a moment that they would back him up. "Okay, first of all I need some simple answers to some simple questions. And I need to make some calls. We haven't a lot of time so just nod." Mac turned to face Sid. "You said you know the owner of the country club?" Sid nodded somewhat perplexed. Mac glanced back at the map before turning back to Sid. "Well enough to get us a private dining room for this evening, no questions asked?" Sid nodded again. "Okay do it … but don't use your cell or your office phone. And we need an Internet connection." Sid nodded again looking a little confused but he decided now was not the time to question and quickly left.

Mac turned to Adam "We need some communications equipment that Marsh can't track and two easily transportable computers that can connect to a satellite uplink." Mac handed Adam the piece of paper Henley had given him. Adam glanced at it, his eyes widening. "Don't lose it." Adam nodded enthusiastically. "Reed can you help him? I need everything there is to know about the Khalim's." Reed nodded and made to follow Adam out of the room. "Oh and Adam …?" Adam turned back. Mac had an amused smile on his face. "Do you still have that voice synthesizer software you were playing with the other week?" Adam blanched as the realization hit him that Mac knew about that. He nodded tentatively. "Good. Bring it." Mac turned away and Adam made a hasty exit followed by Reed, making a mental note not to play with cool software in the office especially one that allows you to imitate your boss.

"Danny, check out the cars. I need you to confirm that Someya Khalim owns a Land-Rover LR2. The blue Taurus is probably registered to her too. I also need to know profiles of who works for her, details of the house and the immediate area. Is Lindsay at home?" Danny nodded. "I need her to get Ellie from school. They're arriving back from a soccer tournament at 6pm. Tell her to expect a visitor later tonight and warn her about the phones just in case." Danny nodded again wondering what the hell Mac was up to.

"Sheldon, I hope it won't be necessary but we'll need a full emergency medical kit. " Sheldon rose from the table. "And er … get me some chloroform." Sheldon's eyebrows raised but he didn't question Mac. He was beginning to get an idea of what Mac was planning. Mac could see him shaking his head all the way down the corridor.

Mac turned to face Don his face a mask of worry.

"You think Jo is at Someya Finch's place don't you?" asked Don.

Mac nodded "Yes I do. I think that they must have been following me when we left the lab and they grabbed Jo as an opportune method of forcing me to find their gold for them. I think that all they want is the gold. Our only problem is if they really are planning an act of terrorism. Obviously they have access to explosives as they blew up the pick-up. Marsh said it was a crude home-made device set on a timer. I think Ali and Nigel were supposed to make the delivery of the sculptures but they got wise as to what was going on. I think that Ali discovered that Someya Khalim was masquerading as Simon Yates wife so they hid the crates at the motel and went to confront her." Mac hesitated and Don could almost hear his mind whirring as he tried to process the information. "Someya and her brothers discovered that they'd been found out so they decide to take out Ali and Nigel with the car bomb … but something went wrong. They didn't know about Ali's heart condition. Ali died prematurely. Nigel must have panicked and come looking for me." Mac paused and pinched the bridge of his nose. His headache was worsening but he didn't have the time for that now. He had to focus. He looked at Don.

"The sun sets just after six so it will be dark by seven. They're going to call with the drop point at nine - that leaves us a two hour window. I just hope to God I've got this right or this is all going to be for nothing."

"So what's our plan? And how do we stop Marsh from finding out what we're up to?" asked Don.

Mac's eyes sparkled for a few seconds as he looked at Don. "It's simple. We're all going to be enjoying dinner and a little poker at the country club."

"What?" Don looked at Mac as though he'd gone mad though he liked the idea of dinner.

"Don't worry I'll explain later but in the meantime we need to arrange some transport. You still got your friend's bike?" Don nodded. "Good let's make some calls."

Just under two hours later, two cars left the Crime lab. Mac was driving the first one with Reed sitting need to him. "Don't get those phones mixed up." Mac looked over at Reed who was biting his lip as he attached sticky labels to the phones. "Mac", "Don", "Danny","Reed", "Op 1", "Op 2"

"

Sid was driving the second with Adam in the passenger seat who, like Reed was labelling phones. He looked at the bags in the back seat. "We got everything?" Adam merely nodded concentrating on labelling all the phones correctly. "Hope Marsh hasn't got eyes on us or this game will be over before it starts."

.

_'CSI:NY - CSI:NY - CSI:NY - CSI:NY - CSI:NY'_

_.  
><em>

Agent Geoffrey B. Marsh wandered into the communications room with an air of self-importance and looked over Henley's shoulder. "Where are they going?" he asked as he peered at the street map on the screen.

The first moving circle showed three references. Henley pointed towards it. "That appears to be Detective Taylor with Detectives Flack and Messer. This second one is Dr Hammerback, Dr Hawkes and Adam Ross. I believe they're heading for the country club."

"The country club?"

"Yes sir. Twenty minutes ago we intercepted a call from Dr Hammerback to the Country Club confirming their dinner reservation for 7:30 this evening and informing them that there would be an extra guest. He said that they would be arriving a little early for drinks in the bar."

"Dinner?" Marsh looked confused. "Drinks?"

Henley did his best to keep a straight face. "Yes sir. The woman answering confirmed that it wouldn't be a problem. She seemed to be expecting them."

Marsh huffed but didn't look convinced. "Okay. Keep an eye on them. Is Finch back in the country?"

"No sir not yet . He is due in shortly."

"Good I want him picked up. If we can get him to confirm the presence of weapons and explosives in the house then we can get the go-ahead for a raid."

"What about Detective Danville?"

"Well that is an added inconvenience… er … of course, we will do everything we can to ensure her safety but national security is our first priority." Marsh stalked away leaving Henley with a sour taste in his mouth. He hoped that Mac Taylor was as good as his father had told him he was.

.

_'CSI:NY - CSI:NY - CSI:NY - CSI:NY - CSI:NY'_

.

Jo Danville was getting colder by the minute and every bone in her body seemed to ache. She had no idea how long she had been there or what time it was. Her stomach was rumbling and although she had been taken for another bathroom break when she had drunk some water they had given her nothing. Her head ached, her wrists were sore from trying to release the tape which had been tied even tighter than before, and the side of her face smarted every time she moved where the blindfold rubbed against the cut. She thought back to just after the bombing when Mac had confronted Marsh at the diner. His words came back to her … _I have __spent the last twelve hours in the company of your agents, fully cooperating with your enquiries, answering all your questions to the best of my knowledge without the courtesy of water, food, rest or medical attention _… and she sighed. She remembered thinking at the time how outrageous that had seemed and now here she was in the same position only that no one was asking her questions. She wondered if Mac was all right. He should have had that head injury properly checked out. He had seemed so tired last night as though the weight of the world rested on his shoulders. She imagined him sitting in Simon Yates' bar, sipping his beer with that cute shy embarrassed look on his face. Crazy escapades huh? She would definitely have to find out what that meant. She imagined that she was there too, listening to his voice, smelling his cologne, feeling the warmth of his hand on hers. She wondered what he was doing right now ... she was jolted from her reverie as the key rattled once more in the lock and the door was flung open.

.

_'CSI:NY - CSI:NY - CSI:NY - CSI:NY - CSI:NY'_

.

Mac Taylor lay on his stomach. He could feel the cold of the damp ground seeping into his clothes. He inched his way forward across the rough ground, sharp stones digging into his elbows and knees. He paused and pulled the night scope from a pocket in his cargo pants. The sun had set an hour ago and it was almost dark except for the glow from the lights that lit up the garden and the terrace windows that overlooked the sweeping landscaped lawn. He swung the scope slowly across the back of the house. There were no guards patrolling around the house, no signs of life other than from the terrace windows where occasionally a figure could be seen walking past. The mobile phone in his pocket vibrated against his thigh. He pulled it out and listened carefully before hanging up without saying a word. He swung the scope back across the house. He hoped that Jo was all right. He hoped that she wasn't hurt. He hoped that she knew he was coming for her and most of all he hoped with all his being that he'd got this right.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Agent Geoffrey B. Marsh wandered into the communications room for the twentieth time that evening and looked over Henley's shoulder again. "Where are they doing?" he asked his subordinate as he peered at the screen.

The screen now showed an aerial view of a large house in varying shades of green. Small almost circular areas of the screen appeared in colours ranging from yellow through orange to red. "They arrived about 70 minutes ago. I guess they're having dinner." The younger man pointed to a group of 7 yellowish orange spots in a circle at the back of the building.

"Mmm. Dinner at the country club? Taylor is up to something, I know it. Have a couple of agents check them out. What about the house?"

"There's no change Sir." Henley hoped that he wouldn't ask.

"Well show me."

Henley's fingers hovered over the mouse and prayed.

"Agent Marsh? Sir we have a problem." Marsh spun away from the screen and faced the newcomer, a fair haired young man with a worried expression. "We haven't been able to pick up Jonathan Finch. Someone met him at the airport and they're headed into Manhattan."

"What?" Marsh stormed off. "Who the hell picked him up?"

"We're not sure sir. Seemed to be an old friend. We running plates now." The younger man's voice faded as they moved down the corridor though Marsh could be heard barking out orders.

Henley sighed with relief and glanced around ensuring no one could see the screen. His finger tapped the mouse and the image on the screen flickered. Another house appeared in the same eerie shades of green. Henley counted off the glowing orange dots in his head. "Four in the main room, the Khalims and a body guard near the door; two staff in the kitchen, two guards in a small room on the opposite side of the house, two fainter heat signatures downstairs, one of which hadn't moved an inch since he started watching it and one figure inching it's way across the lawn." Henley smiled to himself; he had been right to listen to his father's advice. At least this way Detective Danville would be out of the equation and Marsh would be none the wiser. Henley still had his doubts about the terrorist link; there was no firm evidence, only Marsh's quickly drawn conclusions.

.

_'CSI:NY - CSI:NY - CSI:NY - CSI:NY - CSI:NY'_

.

Some fifty miles away in a small plushly furnished private dining room, Adam Ross and Reed Garrett looked at the same image. "This is awesome." gushed Adam. "I've always wanted to play with one of these. The satellite imagery detail is fantastic and you can have infra-red, ultra-violet, about 20 different map overlays … awesome!"

"Yeah, well don't play too much or the military might notice you hacking around their system. It's a good job Mac has friends in high places." Reed grinned. "Anyway he's made good progress." They looked at the elongated heat signature about 10 yards from the house. "Looks like he's settled in."

"Are we still looking good Adam?" asked Sid who was sitting back tasting a glass of wine at the opposite side of a circular table that was set for seven people but was currently only offering a mobile phone as appetizer for each participant.

"Hold on let me look." Adam moved the mouse and his finger clicked a couple of times. The image on the screen flickered and changed to show a thermal image of the building they were now sitting in. Several groups of people were moving about represented by little orange and yellow coloured dots. Adam pointed to a group of seven people sitting round a table. "That's us. We're looking pretty good though Danny's starting to look a little cool."

Sid put down his glass and wandered around the table and peered at 'Danny', "The water's boiling away" he observed as he looked at the silver chafing dish seated at Danny's place. "I'll get Malcolm to bring some more."

"How long till they phone Mac?" asked Reed.

"Another 45 minutes." answered Adam looking at his watch. "I hope this is going to work."

"Me too." Reed looked distinctly worried.

.  
><em>'CSI:NY - CSI:NY - CSI:NY - CSI:NY - CSI:NY'<em>

.

Meanwhile Danny was feeling distinctly cool. The cold wind seemed to penetrate his clothes as he sped along keeping the van between him and the cars he was following. The silver Toyota kept it's distance from the Dodge Charger in front. Danny punched the call button on the phone taped to the tank in front of him. The Charger made a right turn and disappeared from view. The Toyota that was following was only a few seconds behind when it too made the turn but the delay was enough for a taxi making a U-turn to block their path. The silver Toyota screeched to a halt and the driver leaned on the horn; the passenger partially opened his door to yell at the inept taxi driver who was taking his time to complete the turn in the narrow street. Danny grinned as he sailed past on his bike. He made a right turn a couple of blocks further down and cruised along noting the Dodge Charger pull in behind him. They drove for a short distance making two more turns before Danny pulled the bike to one side and switched off the engine. He got off the bike and waited for the Charger to pull over. The passenger got out, a tall tanned man in casual dress and canvass boots. He reached into the back of the car and pulled out a bag festooned with airline security tags. Before he closed the door Danny bent down to greet the driver.

"Simon Yates, I presume." he reached in to shake hands. "Thanks for your help." Danny grinned.

"No problem. Don't forget my invitation once this is all over. And tell Mac not to pull any crazy stunts – he's getting too old for that crap now!" Simon raised his hand in farewell, Danny closed the door and watched as the Charger took off. Crazy stunts huh? He tucked that piece of information away for future reference. He turned to face the tall man.

"And you must Jonathan Finch. Danny Messer." As Finch shook his hand, his brief smile was replaced by a look of deep concern.

"Good to meet you Danny. What has my crazy ex-wife done now? And what the hell is Major Taylor up to?"

"Let's talk about it on the way." Danny waved to the cab that was pulling into the kerb. He pushed Finch in before getting in himself. The cab took off immediately. Finch looked at the driver and then at Danny who grinned and introduced their driver.

"Allow me to present Dr Sheldon Hawkes. " And then to Sheldon. "You know you really need to practise your three point turns." Sheldon grinned and shook his head. "Now down to business … tell us about your ex-wife."

Jonathan Finch sighed. "Someya isn't a bad person but she has expensive tastes. House, pool, servants, cars, clubs, clothes, jewellery, … I couldn't keep up. I was just a soldier and I had trouble getting steady work after I left the service." He paused a look of regret on his face. "Her brothers would send her gifts but I started noticing that they would get lost or supposedly broken more often than was natural. She was selling them to fund her extravagant lifestyle. I then realized that she had borrowed heavily and this led to our break-up. She still had creditors after her when we divorced. I had hoped she would stop, settle down but…" his voice trailed off as he looked at Danny. He sighed again. "She didn't. What has she done?"

"She's been smuggling stolen antiquities into the US. Did you know about that?" asked Danny.

Finch hung his head in shame. "Yes. Before her younger brother Amir came over here to study, he sent her several sculptures. I caught her one day breaking one deliberately. He had hidden some artefacts inside. She said that they were only minor pieces of no importance and she didn't want the hassle of going through all that customs rigmarole. She promised that it was just to pay off the creditors. She promised she would stop. She didn't did she?"

Danny shook his head. "No, she scaled up. She started bringing them in through Ali Hanin's import business."

Finch looked at him. "Ali called me on Friday. He said it was really important that he talk to me about Someya. I told him that I was on my way back and that we'd find out what was going on." Finch's eyes narrowed as he looked at Danny. "Something's happened?"

"Ali Hanin is dead. I'm sorry. So is Nigel Donnelly."

Finch paled visibly. "What? Are you saying Someya is involved in murder?"

Sheldon had been listening intently to the exchange. "Ali Hanin had a weak heart. We had evidence that Amir threatened him causing him to have an angina attack. Although he died of natural causes we believe they were aggravated by Amir's handling. Nigel however died in a car bomb that also injured Mac."

"A car bomb?" Finch thought for a moment. "That sounds like Amir. He always did like to play with guns and explosives. I remember Someya telling me that as a small boy, he would go fishing with old grenades he had found. He didn't bring home the fish. He just liked to blow them up. Though I can't believe he would actually kill someone." Finch rubbed at his face. Perhaps he didn't want to believe. it.

"Could he be planning a terrorist attack? And is the other brother involved?" asked Danny.

Finch looked surprised. "I don't know. I wouldn't put anything past Amir. Youssef, however, is a different kettle of fish. There is no way he would countenance any kind of violence. He's worked all his life to improve relations between our countries. If Amir is into anything like that I cannot believe that Youssef knows about it. " Finch looked out of the window for a few seconds before turning back to Danny. "Someya isn't a bad person but under Amir's influence I'm afraid her greed may override her judgement."

.

_'CSI:NY - CSI:NY - CSI:NY - CSI:NY - CSI:NY'_

.

Mac lifted his head to risk a quick look over the balustrade that surrounded the terrace. He spotted Someya sitting on a sofa with her head in her hands. Another figure was sitting opposite her with his back to the window smoking a cigarette. Mac could see the smoke curling into the air. A third person was pacing back and forth waving his hands in the air. He recognised the third man as the older brother Youssef Khalim. Suddenly the man sitting with his back to him jumped up and spun round flinging open the doors to the terrace. Mac ducked back down and rolled underneath the bushes at the foot of the balustrade. He reached up and pulled down the front of his hat revealing it to be a balaclava. He rolled it down until it completely covered his face, only his eyes showing. With his dark clothes he was almost invisible unless someone above him was to look directly down into the bushes. He heard footsteps stomp across the terrace and he could hear the man breathing heavily, cursing under his breath. He heard a sharp intake of breath and then a cigarette butt sailed over his head and landed a few feet away, it's tip glowing for a brief moment before it went out in the damp grass. Mac tried to control his breathing and remain immobile as the man not two feet away from him lit another cigarette. A lit match landed on his stomach. Mac tried not to flinch hoping the match wouldn't set light to his clothes.

"Amir!" The deep baritone voice caused the man to turn around. "You have gone too far. This has to stop. Now."

"She hasn't seen our faces. She doesn't know who we are or where we are." Amir's reedy voice was high and whining as though he was pleading. He took another drag at the cigarette. "We'll take her …"

"No. You won't take her anywhere. You will release her and atone for your actions. I will go to the authorities and speak on your behalf..." Mac felt a surge of relief as Youssef's words assured him that Jo was indeed alive and well but his relief was short-lived.

"No." Amir screeched.

"What are you doing? Where did you get that gun?" Youssef's voice wavered slightly. "You dare to threaten me. Your own brother. You are going to ruin everything I have worked so hard to achieve."

"Stay where you are ... I won't be told what to do ... You shouldn't have told him! … I had this under control." Amir sounded far from in control. To Mac's ear his voice was tinged with hysteria.

"Amir, please this has got out of hand. I know you didn't mean to kill the old man but you shouldn't have killed the boy. And I'm not letting you kill a police officer." Someya's voice was filled with fear.

"Shut up! You need the money as much as I do. You are going to call that detective and get him to bring it. Once we've done the exchange we'll leave all this behind. Go in the house and call him. Set up the exchange. … Do it!" Amir's voice raised a notch. Mac grimaced as he heard the panic in his voice. He knew Amir was close to losing it and that made him unpredictable.

Mac listened as he heard them re-enter the house. He heard the doors close. He risked a quick look and pulled himself from his hiding place. He slowly circled the terrace keeping low beneath the wall, wary of being caught by the surveillance camera pointing onto the terrace.. He straightened up as he reached the wall under the camera and peered around the corner. He pulled back immediately as he sensed someone approaching and he reached down into his pocket. Show time!


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Adam watched the three yellow dots on the screen move away from the terrace and into the house. On the 2D image it looked as though they had been right on top of Mac. Adam let out the breath that he was holding. "Oh boy that was close!" Reed looked white. They watched as Mac's heat signature moved around the edge of the house. Adam picked up his second phone labelled "Op Central"and thumbed a speed dial number. It was answered immediately.

"You have company. Coming from the North West corner. We have the package from the airport." He put the phone back down and looked at his watch. "Okay Reed, you ready for this."

Reed shook his head as Mac's phone rang in the place setting next to him but he had no choice so he picked up the microphone. Adam checked the cable that led from Mac's phone to the computer and pushed the answer button. "Taylor." Reed said surprised to hear his voice transformed into that of his stepfather's as he had now come to consider Mac.

"Do you have what we want?" The female voice was muffled as though she had a cloth over the mouthpiece but he was able to make out the words quite clearly.

"Yes. Let me speak to Detective Danville." Reed read the words from the script they had worked out.

"That won't be possible."

"Don't take me for a fool. I want proof of life or the deal is off." Reed read trying to sound as self assured as Mac. There was a few moments hesitation.

"Very well. Wait."

Adam pointed to the screen and they watched a dot move east through the house and join the two fainter heat signatures. There was some rustling and the muffled sound of voices.

"Mac? It's Jo." Adam looked over at Sid who closed his eyes and sighed with relief at hearing her voice.

"Jo, are you all right?" Reed asked.

"Yes! Mac ..." Jo's voice was cut off with a muffled cry.

"You have your proof of life. New construction at the corner of Rockaway and Bayview. Be there in one hour. Alone." The caller rang off. Adam picked up his second phone.

Reed sighed with relief as he put the microphone down. "Wow I can't believe that worked. Oh oh! Mac!"

Adam was about to dial again when he realised that the guard's heat signature was almost at Mac's position. Sid came round and watched over Adam's shoulder as the two dots merged briefly. Then one moved away back round the house the way the guard had come. Adam's phone began to vibrate causing him to jump as he answered it. "You okay?"

Mac's voice sounded tinny through the phones speaker. "Yeah." he whispered. "Do you have confirmation?"

"Yes. Basement room, North East corner. There's one guard with her and a second in a room just to your right. Your taxi will be there shortly. Rendez-vous is one hour at Rockaway and Bayview so they'll be leaving soon. You need to move now."

"Understood." Mac rang off.

"Be careful Mac." whispered Reed to himself.

Adam hit the speed dial again. "Okay you're good to go."

.

_'CSI:NY - CSI:NY - CSI:NY - CSI:NY – CSI:NY'_

.

Don Flack crept through the bushes and flattened himself against the wall of the garage. A gleaming new Mercedes with diplomatic plates was parked in the drive outside the house. That must be Youssef Khalim's, he thought to himself. According to Reed's research only the elder brother was formally a member of the trade talks, the younger brother and sister only lived off his reputation. He ducked around the corner and peered through the window of the access door. "Nice" he whispered as he spied a gleaming yellow Corvette next to a row of cars including a Land-Rover LR2 and a huge 4 x4. According to Sid the blue Taurus had followed them to the country club where they were still sitting outside the gates believing Mac to be inside.

Don tried the handle but of course it was locked. He looked at the row of four automatic doors, ducked back around the corner and slid back along the wall until he reached a small panel set into the wall. Pulling a small metal crow bar from his pocket, he inserted it into the gap between the surround and the inset door. It didn't take much to prise it apart. He looked inside at the tangle of wires. Putting his phone to his ear he whispered. "Okay, which ones?"

Sid held out the schematics for the house. Adam tipped his head on one side as he studied it. "It should be the left most bundle."

Don sighed and grabbed the left most bundle of wires in his gloved hand, closed his eyes and pulled. He winced as sparks flew. Opening his eyes and deciding that he hadn't been electrocuted he looked around "Shit. The garden lights went out."

"Er sorry .. they must be on the same circuit." came Adam's worried voice through the phone.

"Oh ya think?"

.

Mac jumped as the garden lights suddenly went out. He was right under the window to the guard's room. He heard the scrape of the chair and the door open. He flattened himself against the wall. The guard stepped out to check the rest of the garden. Mac pounced grabbing the guard in a strangle hold, forcing a square of white cloth over his nose and mouth. The guard struggled for a few seconds but began to go limp in Mac's arms. As he began to collapse Mac twisted round and heaved him over his shoulder and carried him away from the door and dumped him under a large bush. He relieved him of his gun, tossed it into another bush and quickly ran back to the door and closed it quietly behind him. He blinked as his eyes adjusted to the brightness. He checked the door to his right. It was a simply furnished room with a table and two chairs, a television on top of a fridge and a row of black and white security monitors on a desk with another office chair that had been pushed hurriedly away. Mac checked the monitors and let out a breath grateful that the security system was pretty basic and hadn't been too difficult for him to get through with Adam's help. He flipped a few switches and left closing the door quietly behind him. He moved silently down the corridor, pulled out his phone and hit the call button.

"Er sorry about that. Think we may have killed the garden lights too when we took out the garage doors. The family are still in the main room but their driver is heading to the garages. You still have one. Take the second door on your left, down the stairs and turn right."

Mac whispered an acknowledgement and followed Adam's instructions. He found the door and cautiously opened it. He found himself at the head of a short flight of steps. The light wasn't on but he could see clearly from the glow downstairs. He slipped quietly down the stairs and peered round to the right. Sure enough there was a guard sitting on a chair next to a door. He was reading a newspaper but Mac couldn't fail to miss the gun at his hip nor the semi-automatic slung over the back of the chair. He grimaced. He hadn't been expecting that. At the end of the corridor, set high in the wall was a wide but shallow window with newspaper taped over it.

Mac flattened himself against the wall and took out another square of chloroform-soaked cloth. He lifted the phone and pressed 2. A voice said "Ready."

"On 5."

Don counted to five in his head and smashed the window with the crow bar. The guard jumped up dropping his paper and going for his gun as Mac pushed away from the wall and sprinted down the corridor. He grabbed the guard in a stranglehold but this one was much more on the ball than the first two and put up more of a fight. He threw himself backwards using his weight against Mac and slamming him against the door he had been guarding. Mac groaned as the door handle caught him in the left kidney. He tightened his grip and tried to keep the chloroform-soaked square over the man's mouth and nose. However that wasn't easy when your opponent wasn't cooperating and was at least six inches taller and twenty pounds heavier. Mac decided heavier tactics were called for so he dropped the cloth, tightened his grip around the man's throat and launched a well-aimed kick at his opponent's Achilles heel. The guard stumbled and dropped to his knees throwing Mac off-balance. Mac lost his hold and tumbled to the floor. However, he recovered quickly and lashed out at the guard who collapsed onto his back. Mac staggered forward and grabbed the cloth from the floor. He knelt on the man's chest and held the cloth over his mouth and nose as he counted in his head. The guard went limp and Mac removed a glove to feel for his pulse. Satisfied that he was alive but out cold, he replaced his glove and looked up at the masked face peering through the now-open window. He raised his hand in an okay sign and received one in return.

Mac turned to the door he was guarding. Now was the moment of truth.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N. Ooo thank you so much for your reviews. You all really made my week. Okay here it is - no more cliffies but you will have wait till next week for the concluding chapters.  
><strong>

**Chapter 13**

After Mac tested the handle and realised the door was locked, he searched the guards' pockets. He fumbled with the key as he pushed it into the lock. He flung the door open and stopped dead. For a moment all he could do was stare at the empty chair facing the door, duct tape still attached the arms and a circle of black cloth discarded on the seat. Mac was sure that his heart had stopped at that moment until his eyes adjusted to the darkness of the room after the bright lights of the corridor. He let out the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding and crossed over to the ornate iron bed in the corner in two strides. He pulled off a glove and pressed his finger-tips to her throat. Her skin was warm to the touch and her perfume filled his nostrils mixing with a sweet cloying smell. Chloroform! "Dammit!" Mac gently scraped the hair from her face. He frowned at the bruise and cut on her cheek. "Jo!". She stirred slightly and murmured "Mac!". Obviously they had given her just enough to disorient her ready for the exchange but not knock her out completely. Mac replaced his glove and pulled a knife out of a sheath on his calf and cut through the tape noting angrily her red wrists and how cold her hands were. He put the knife back and lifted her into a sitting position. Her eyes fluttered open and blinked furiously in the bright light from the corridor. "Jo. It's okay. I'm here." She looked at him but her eyes were unfocussed. "We have to go."

Mac lifted her from the bed surprised that she was able to hold her own weight as she swayed against him. He half dragged, half lifted her into the corridor and over to the window scraping the broken glass out of the way. Don had found the catch and let the window down. He reached down and they hauled her up out of the window. As Don cradled her in his arms, his phone buzzed. Mac went back for the chair. The guard on the floor moaned slightly. Mac frowned and reached down and removed the guard's weapon tucking it into his belt.

"We've got company. Let's move." Don hissed.

Mac slung the semi-automatic over his shoulder and shoved the chair under the window. He pushed the gun through the window and struggled to climb out as it was a tight squeeze. Between them they grabbed Jo and set off across the lawn towards the bushes near the garages. As they reached the bushes they heard a shout from behind them. Looking back they could see a head and shoulders emerge from the window. They plunged into the bushes just as a couple of shots cracked in the air behind them. Don stumbled but soon righted himself and they made it to the fence where Danny's grinning face face could be seen. He reached out for Jo as Don pushed her through the hole he had cut in the fence on the way in. "Come on. Hurry up. It sounds like you've been made."

"Go." hissed Mac as he unslung the semi-automatic from his shoulder. "Stick to the plan. I'll buy you some time." And with that he plunged back into the bushes.

"Mac!" Don spun round but it was too late. His friend had disappeared. "Crazy son of a bitch." He had no choice but to help Danny get Jo to the car. They flung open the door to the back of the cab where Sheldon was sitting with his medical kit. Don bundled Jo in and got in beside her. Jonathan Finch was now sitting in the driver's seat and he twisted round to look as Danny jumped into the front seat beside him. Don looked at Finch. "Go."

"What about Mac?" asked Danny.

Finch grinned as he hit the accelerator "Don't worry about him. He's been in worse situations than this."

Danny looked at Don. "He knows where the bike is hidden right?"

Don nodded. "Yeah" and then a thought he struck him. "He does how to ride one doesn't he?" They all shrugged as they turned to Sheldon who was smiling as Jo stirred and tried to open her eyes. She slumped slightly to one side and Don pulled her into the crook of his arm and laid her head on his shoulder. She murmured something that sounded distinctly like "Mac."

Sheldon examined her wrists and the cut to her face. "She's a little out of it but she's going to be fine. Now let's get her home. We're late for dinner."

.

_'CSI:NY - CSI:NY - CSI:NY - CSI:NY – CSI:NY'_

.

Mac crouched by the bush beside the garages and watched as Amir Khalim headed across the lawn towards him swinging his head furiously from side to side yelling as he did so. Mac smiled to himself. "Your guards aren't coming!". Mac quickly checked the gun over and raised it to his shoulder. Khalim suddenly stopped and turned back towards the front of the house. Mac moved quickly and silently to his right towards the back of the garages. He kept close to the wall as he came to the far end of the garage block. He crouched down and looked at the man lying on his back. He tapped his face with the back of his gloved hand and nodded as the man groaned slightly. Don obviously hadn't had a problem taking the driver out. Mac thought for a second and then checked his pockets. The man's side-holster was empty, Don having evidently tossed the gun as were his pockets. Mac got up and moved around the side of the garage. Amir was standing in front of the garage doors trying to figure out why they wouldn't open. He turned round and yelled "Hassan!"

Mac stepped out from behind the garages raising his weapon. "Hassan isn't coming. Drop your weapon."

Amir froze to the spot, his gun hanging by his side. His surprise at seeing an armed figure dressed in black from head to toe and pointing a weapon at him caused him to hesitate. He looked around nervously.

"None of your guards are coming." Mac explained. "Now drop your weapon." Mac took several steps towards him

A look of fear passed over Amir's face. "You … you killed them all?" he stammered breaking out into a sweat. Mac didn't respond as he studied him. "Who are you? Special forces?"

Mac laughed. Obviously this boy watched too much television. Now that he could see him at close quarters Mac realized that Amir looked much younger than he had thought. He looked at his expensive designer jeans and shoes, his modish haircut, round pudgy cheeks and sullen expression. His eyes appeared dilated and he was trembling. He looked like an over-indulged, spoilt child in a man's body but nonetheless, Mac reminded himself, one who had killed two men. Mac lifted his weapon slightly. "Last time. Drop the weapon." he hissed putting as much venom into the order as he could. Amir bent down holding out his hand as though he was going to place the gun on the ground but at the last minute he sprang up and fired at Mac. Two shots rang out and Mac staggered clasping his stomach and dropping to one knee as Amir fell to the ground.

"Amir!" Mac raised his head to see Youssef Khalim, standing at the door with Someya behind him, horror painted on her beautiful face. Youssef dashed down the steps towards his brother. Mac regained his feet, his weapon firmly clasped in his hands but pointed at the ground. Youssef ran up to his brother and looked down at him and slowly lifted his head to stare at Mac in astonishment. 

.

_'CSI:NY - CSI:NY - CSI:NY - CSI:NY – CSI:NY'_

. 

The yellow cab swung up the drive to the country club and took the service road to the back of the establishment. It drew to halt and Sheldon Hawkes jumped out. He reached back in to grab his bag and to pull a cover over Jo who was now sprawled across the back seat. He nodded to Finch.

"Don't worry! I'll take good care of her." Finch smiled as Sheldon closed the door and the cab pulled away. Danny held out a bag for Don who pulled off his black coat and gloves and threw them into the bag together with the crow bar and a balaclava. Sheldon pulled off his hat and coat and added them to the bag. They all threw in their phones.

"Glad you've still got that bag Doc." Don put a hand to his thigh which was now stinging like hell. "That sonofabitch winged me on the way out."

Sheldon frowned at Don. "Now you tell me. Come on, lets get inside." Sheldon followed Danny and Don in through the back door, past the kitchens and down a long corridor. They pushed through some double doors and entered a side room.

Sid and Malcolm were busily moving a silver chafing dish onto a side table where Don was happy to see that a steaming tray of pasta was ready to be put into it. Next to it was a basket of tiny rolls and crackers, a cheese board and jugs of coffee. Having put the pasta to keep hot, Sid and Malcolm grabbed another chafing dish and moved it next to the first one. Reed was stowing some computer equipment under a table. He held up the white cloth for Danny to hide the bag. Malcolm dug into his pocket and handed Sid some cards. Sid went back to the table and started to deal out cards as Malcolm placed some gaming chips on the table before disappearing from the room. Danny went round to his place and pocketed his usual phone checking for messages as he did so. He also noticed that the glasses on the table looked as though they already been drunk from. Malcolm and Sid were certainly well organised. In fact it looked like they had been there all evening.

Only Adam didn't acknowledge their arrival. He was transfixed by the screen in front of him. Don peered over his shoulder as Sheldon opened his bag and grabbed some fresh gloves. "Mac?" he asked. Adam raised a shaky finger and pointed to a yellow dot positioned in front of the garages a short distance from three other heat signatures. "What the hell is he playing at?"

"Well whatever it is, he'd better hurry up. Reed just had a call from Henley." At Don's look of surprise Adam explained. "Apparently his phone is the only one not being tracked. Marsh and a handful of agents are on their way here. They worked out that Simon Yates picked up Finch from the airport and they intercepted the call to Mac's phone from Someya Finch. According to Henley, Marsh is convinced that the Khalims are fronting a terrorist cell and Marsh thinks that Mac is about to ruin it. He knows he is up to something."

"Well at least he's right about that."

"Are they a terrorist threat?" asked Reed.

Don shook his head. "I have no idea but I guess we're about to find out."  
><strong><br>**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N. Hope you all had a great weekend. Thank you for your reviews. I'm almost done with this ...  
><strong>

**Chapter 14**

Youssef Khalim looked down at his brother who was clasping his thigh in agony and back at Mac in astonishment. "You didn't kill him. You didn't kill any of the guards. Why?"

Mac hesitated unsure what to do. He didn't want to give himself away. He'd come too far to protect his team to give them up now. He took a deep breath glad that the balaclava would help disguise his voice. "I wished only to free Detective Danville. I have accomplished that."

Youssef furrowed his brow and thought for a long moment before pointing to his brother who was glaring at Mac with a mixture of fear and hatred. "And my brother?"

"Both your brother and sister must atone for their actions." Mac reiterated Youssef's words from earlier.

Youssef looked at him strangely for a moment and then nodded slowly. "Are you going to go to the authorities?"

Mac thought for a moment. "That depends on you. From what I have been told you have been working very hard to maintain good relations between our two countries. I do not think either of us wish to see that end."

Youssef nodded again, a small smile touching his lips as the load from his shoulders lifted a little. "I will ensure that reparation is made. You have my word. The gold artefacts …?"

"I do not know where they are. They are in the hands of the authorities and I am sure that steps will be taken to ensure that they are restored to their rightful owners." Mac hoped that Marsh would at least do what was right but even if he didn't he was sure that Henley would.

Youssef pondered his words carefully as he continued to look at the masked man in front of him. "I do not understand your role in this but I think that somehow you do not wish it to be known." Youssef took several steps towards Mac who stood his ground. "But I thank you. It is perhaps time for my brother and sister to return to their country of birth."

"No." Someya screeched. Youssef whirled around to face her.

"Silence. You have brought enough shame on our family. You made a good marriage and you threw that away. You had wealth and you squandered it. It is now time for you to pay for your foolishness." Youssef thundered. "And as for your brother ..." Youssef was unable to continue as Amir pushed himself from the ground and launched himself at his brother. Youssef went flying backwards into Mac who stumbled under the man's weight. Before he could recover Amir dragged himself over to the Mercedes and flinging open the door threw himself inside.

Mac pushed Youssef to one side and raised the semi-automatic as the engine roared to life. He loosed off a short volley of shots as the car careened away from him in a shower of gravel. The shots ricocheted off the back of the car. "Dammit." Bullet-proof. Mac only had one option. He turned back to Youssef. "I'm trusting you to do what is right."

Youssef nodded, sadness etched into his face. "You have my word."

Mac took off the way he had come without another word. He stumbled through the bushes and ran for the hole in the fence. He scrambled through the jagged gap and up across the side road to the bushes on the other side. He flung his leg over the bike and pulled off the balaclava drawing in great gulps of air. He pushed the balaclava in his jacket and slung the semi automatic over his shoulder. He grabbed the helmet and jammed it on his head and gunned the bike. The engine roared as he took off down the road. The bike swerved from side to side uncontrollably. Damn thought Mac to himself. It had been a while since he ridden one other than riding pillion behind Don earlier that evening. He took the corner a little fast and skidded but managed to pull out of the skid as he turned into the straight.

Mac accelerated as fast as he dared. He glanced at the gates to the house that were just beginning to close as he sped past. He knew Amir had to be a little way ahead of him despite having to wait for the gates to open. The bike sped along and Mac felt exhilarated from the adrenalin rushing through his body. As he rounded the bend he caught a glimpse of tail-lights. He wasn't far behind and he knew that Amir would be forced to break at the junction where the road from the estate joined the main road. Mac pushed the bike a little harder.

Amir was definitely slowing. The wound in his right thigh was making it difficult to drive fast. Amir began to feel a light-headed as the blood seeped slowly from his body. He tried to push the accelerator further but the pain in his leg was unbearable. His hands, sticky with blood, slipped on the steering wheel. Suddenly he realised he was at the junction. He tried to turn right but his hands lost their grip and his leg wouldn't obey him. He was going too fast and was unable to brake quickly enough. Despite all the technology and engineering that had been put into the car, it couldn't hold the road. Amir knew it was too late.

Mac was almost upon him when they arrived at the junction. Too late he realized that Amir wasn't going to be able to make the turn. Mac hit the brakes but too hard and he felt the bike move from under him. The bike twisted skidding towards junction. There was nothing that Mac could do in those few seconds but watch helplessly as the car spun out of control, hit the embankment and ploughed into the structure beyond. Mac felt himself hit the ground and roll and then the very air around him seemed to turn to fire. 

'CSI:NY - CSI:NY - CSI:NY - CSI:NY – CSI:NY' 

Agent Marsh flung open the front doors of the country club followed by four agents. He halted briefly as he found himself in an elegant foyer facing a large polished oak table decorated with an enormous flower decoration. Several club members standing to one side stared at him disapprovingly. His crumpled grey suit, partially undone tie and raincoat were hardly "de rigueur" for such an establishment. Marsh walked over to the reception desk. The young blond woman manning the desk valiantly hid her surprise and greeted him politely.

"Good evening sir. May I help you?" She smiled her fixed smile reserved for all members of the club.

"Where's Detective Taylor?" Marsh thundered.

"I'm sorry sir?" The girl looked momentarily confused as she glanced at a list of that evenings' members and her fixed smile faded a little. "Is he a member or a guest?"

"How the hell should I know?" Marsh was forgetting his manners. "Find him. He's having dinner in a private room."

"Oh I see sir." The fixed smile returned. "Bear with me sir. I'll call the manager and find out for you. We have several groups in this evening." She reached across for the phone and dialled a number.

Marsh drummed his fingers on the desk as he waited. He glared at the other members of the club who were whispering among themselves. "Never mind I'll find him myself." He stalked off trying to remember the layout of the building from the satellite display that Henley had shown him earlier. He was sure that it was at the back of the building on his left.

"Sir, sir … I'm sorry but you can't go in unless you're a member. It's club policy." The young woman rushed after him as he entered the bar. The bar was elegantly furnished in shades of plum and claret red. The wooden tables and bar were polished till they shone and were positioned so they had a view through large terrace doors over the manicured gardens at the back of the club house. Subtle flower arrangements decorated side tables and the lighting and music were soft and discrete making it the perfect place to relax away from the stress of the city. The quiet buzz of conversation stopped as Marsh stormed into the room. "Sir please, the manager will be right here." Marsh glared around the bar.

"Excuse sir, may I help you?" Marsh did a 180 degree turn to come face to face with a tall, grey-haired man, impeccably dressed in pressed trousers, club blazer and tie. "I'm Malcolm Kingsway, the manager here. I understand you are looking for one of our guests. If you'd be so kind as to come this way." Malcolm gestured back towards the entrance hall. "Thank you, that way we won't disturb our members. Now who is it you are looking for?"

"Detective Mac Taylor." Marsh hissed. He failed to notice the club receptionist disappear discretely through a side door.

"Perhaps I could see some identification please Sir?" He ignored Marsh's glare of annoyance and continued in a smooth placating voice. "You must understand that we have a lot of … er … shall we say high-profile members. It would be very remiss of me to allow just anyone in. I'm sure you understand." Marsh was furious but had no choice but to comply. He handed over his identification which Malcolm looked at stretching his arms away from him. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his glasses. "Ah that's better. Old age catching up with me I'm afraid … er … Agent Marsh." He handed the ID back. "Now let's see of we can find your Detective Taylor. I have a list of our guests right here in my office." He smiled at Marsh who looked as though he was about to explode. "Ah General Gray. Good to see you again sir." Marsh was forced to wait as the manager greeted his guest. If he didn't know better he would have said these were delaying tactics. 

_'CSI:NY - CSI:NY - CSI:NY - CSI:NY – CSI:NY'_

Six pairs of eyes now stood transfixed by the screen in font of them. They had followed Mac's progress on the screen until his heat signature had merged with that of the exploding car. Adam hit a key to change to the satellite imagery but it was too dark to make out anything other than the flames.

The door to the room swung open and the young receptionist put her head in. "There's someone in reception asking for Detective Taylor. Malcolm's delaying him as long as he can." She disappeared and the door closed quietly. Adam had no choice but to close down the laptop and hide it with the other equipment under the table at the back of the room. Everyone ran to take a place at the table. Danny reached for his drink. Don picked up his cards carefully hiding his bloodied trouser leg under the table. Sheldon grabbed some cheese and a roll and popped a piece in his mouth sprinkling some crumbs on the table. Adam regained his place and grabbed his cards as Reed stood by the coffee urn with a cup in his hand. To everyone's surprise, Sid grabbed a phone from the table, pulled one of the curtains aside, opened the terrace window and disappeared outside. "Stepping out for some air ..."

A little over five minutes later a polite knock was heard and the door opened. Malcolm entered with a "Sorry to disturb you gentlemen ..." Marsh pushed past him and glanced around the room a look of triumph coming over his face. "I knew it. I just knew it ..." he yelled. "Where is he?"

Everyone looked at one another and said nothing.

"I know you are up to something. Where is Taylor? Tell me or I'll ..." They never knew what he was going to do as Marsh's phone rang. He picked it up angrily. "What?" he listened for a moment. "An accident? … Are you sure? … Is Taylor involved? … Very well. I'll be there right away." Danny glanced at Don. He thought Marsh looked a little disappointed. Marsh hung up the phone and glared around the room. He was furious. "I know you are all involved in this …" He hesitated. The problem was that he didn't have any idea what 'this' was. "Now where is Taylor …" He broke off as he heard laughter coming in through the window.

"That's what my second wife said ..." Sid stepped back in through the window. He breathed out loudly. "Ah, that's better. Nothing like a little fresh air after dinner and it's a lovely evening if it's a little chilly. ... Ah Malcolm, a fabulous meal as always! Do give my compliments to the chef ... I don't suppose he's give me his recipe for the Alfredo … it's absolutely exquisite? ... Ah no I thought not ... Oh good you've brought coffee. " Sid beamed at the everyone in the room. Sheldon frowned slightly with curiosity as he noticed that Sid was no longer wearing his jacket. "Ah! Agent Marsh isn't it? Would you care to join us?"

Marsh stared at Sid as though he had stepped straight out of the insane asylum. "Join you …?" he stammered.

"Coffee or a nightcap perhaps…? I was just saying to Mac how I do enjoy a brandy on the odd occasion. My good friend Malcolm here has a particularly fine Armagnac. Obviously I don't indulge when I'm driving but as our young friend here has kindly volunteered ..." Sid smiled innocently at Marsh who continued to stare at his open-mouthed. "No well ... what about you Mac?" Sid moved away from the window allowing Mac to step in through the door. He was wearing Sid's jacket.

"Just coffee please Sid." Mac grinned at Marsh. "Good evening Agent Marsh. What brings you here?"

Marsh stared at Mac in disbelief for a few seconds his face turning bright red, almost apoplectic with rage. Then, without a word, he whirled around and stormed out of the room.

Mac pulled a face. "Was it something I said?"

Malcolm Kingsway smiled and shook his had in amusement as he left quietly closing the door. The moment it closed, Mac's face dropped. "Jo?" he asked.

"She's going to be fine Mac." Sheldon looked carefully at Mac, his brow furrowing. "But I'm guessing you're not."

****


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N. Okay penultimate chapter ... almost there!  
><strong>

**Chapter 15**

Jo came awake slowly. The first thing that she was aware of was a rapid repetitive clicking sound. Tick, tick, tick. Her eyelids felt heavy and it took her a few moments to open them. She blinked as she tried to focus in the early morning sunlight streaming in through her bedroom window. Her bedroom window? She sat up and groaned as the room spun and a wave of nausea washed over her. As it subsided she was aware of someone sitting down on the edge of her bed.

"Oh you're awake. That's good. How are feeling dear? Are you going to be sick?" Jo shook her head as she tried to focus on the face in front of her. She looked at the elderly woman who was smiling kindly at her. She was somehow vaguely familiar. "Now just you lie back and I'll get some you tea. I expect you're thirsty. I'll be right back." She patted Jo's hand and briskly left the room. Jo had no choice but to lay back on her pillows and wait for her return. She closed her eyes as another wave of nausea overcame her. As the nausea subsided Jo listened to the sounds of tea-making coming from her kitchen. For a moment she wondered if she had been dreaming but as she looked down at her bandaged wrists and raised her finger-tips to her face, she knew it wasn't a dream. As she was trying to figure out how she had come to be back in her own bed, the elderly woman returned with a mug of steaming tea.

"There you are." she smiled as she placed the tea on the bed-stand next to Jo. "Nothing like a nice cup of tea." She reached around Jo as she sat up and plumped the pillows adding an extra one for Jo to lean against. "Now don't you worry about anything. Everyone is fine. Lindsay has taken Ellie and Lucy to school. Ellie is such a sweet girl. She was so excited. They came second in the tournament and she scored a goal." It was then that Jo made the connection as her companion resumed her seat in the chair at the foot of the bed and picked up her knitting. The family resemblance was evident. She leaned back into the pillows and reached for the mug. Her mouth was so dry and her head was pounding. She sipped gratefully at the tea allowing Lindsay's mother to chatter on about the soccer match and the sweater she was knitting for Lucy, how it mild it was for the time of year, how much that nice Detective Taylor doted on his god-daughter. A thousand questions whirled through her mind but one question remained at the forefront, how on earth did she get home?

_'CSI:NY - CSI:NY - CSI:NY - CSI:NY – CSI:NY'_

.

Danny Messer swung his kit in his hand as he ducked under the crime scene tape and approached his friend. "Hey Flack, what we got?" Don Flack nodded and thanked the man he had been interviewing.

"You took your time." he grinned. "Late night?" Both men chuckled at their private joke as they approached the body of a young man lying amid a pile of discarded boxes at the corner of the construction site.

"How's the leg?" asked Danny.

Don huffed. "Sore as hell but I'll live. Just hope I don't have to chase down any perps for a few days. Mind you this one looks pretty cut and dried. What do you reckon? Drug overdose?" Danny threw Don an exasperated look as he gazed down at the young man with a tourniquet round one arm and a discarded syringe on the floor. He pulled on his gloves as Don lowered his voice. "How's Jo?"

"Lindsay went to see her after she dropped the kids at school. She's fine and asking a lot of questions. Don't think she's buying the Good Samaritan taxi driver thing. She's gonna work it out sooner or later." Danny placed his kit on the floor and pulled the camera from his shoulder to start taking over-alls.

"Knowing Jo, that will probably be sooner." Don chuckled.

"What about Mac? You see him this morning?" asked Danny, as he clicked several shots.

"Nah, Reed was there although he'll heading to the airport shortly. Sheldon's got the day off so he's going over to check on him." Don couldn't help but laugh. "He says Mac looks like he's had a run in with a cheese grater. I guess that answers our question about whether Mac can ride a bike or not. I have no idea how I'm going to explain to my friend what happened to his bike. It's a good job he's going to be away for another week."

Danny chuckled as he moved to take some close-ups. "Don't worry. We'll take it to a guy I know who can fix it up. No questions asked. You know I'm amazed that Mac even made it back. You've got to admit he's one tough son of a bitch. I mean at his age ..."

"Don't let hear him you say that!" Don chuckled as they got down to business. "So according to his ID this is Waldo Crane ..."

"Waldo … who the hell names their kid Waldo?"

_'CSI:NY - CSI:NY - CSI:NY - CSI:NY – CSI:NY'_

"I'm still cannot believe that you walked away from that with only a couple of minor fractures Mac." Sheldon glanced down at Mac as he slid an elasticated bandage over the gauze dressing on Mac's elbow. "It's a good job you were wearing a vest or you might have scraped half the skin off your back as well. Try to raise your arm for me. How's the shoulder feel?"

Mac grimaced as Sheldon gently rotated his arm in his socket. "Sore."

"Any headaches? Nausea? Dizziness?"

Mac shook his head. "No just stiff."

"Well you're going to have to take it easy. You should really be in ..." Sheldon broke off and raised his hands in surrender as Mac glared at him. "Okay. Okay. But bear in mind being shot even though you're wearing a vest and taking a tumble like that can produce internal injuries. I know the x-rays didn't show anything but even so you're not getting any younger ..."

Mac arched an eyebrow clearly unamused. "Don't you start!"

"Yeah that's what I told him. Pulling stunts like that at his age." Reed stood in the door-way, his hand resting on his suitcase and a computer bag slung over his shoulder. "Anyway I gotta know. What was it like lying on an autopsy table?"

Mac and Sheldon both had to laugh at the memory of Sid taking an X-ray of Mac's shoulder in the autopsy room at the lab. "Creepy .. especially having Sid standing over me. For a moment there I was sure he was imagining doing a live autopsy on me." Mac pulled a horrified face as they all laughed.

"Well Mac I have to get going." Reed stuck out his hand. "I gotta admit staying with you is anything but dull. You know this would make a great novel. Think I should take up fiction …?" Mac shook his hand but before anyone could answer the doorbell rang. "I'll get it. I gotta run. Take care Mac."

"You too Reed." Mac reached for his shirt. He could hear muffled conversation and paused to look at the door wondering who it could be. Sheldon pulled off his gloves and began to clear away the packaging from the dressings he'd used. They both turned as they heard the door click closed and then froze as Jo walked in and stopped; her eyes widened and her mouth fell open. Nobody said anything. Jo looked at Sheldon and then at the medical kit and at the bloodied dressing in the plastic waste bag on the floor. Finally her eyes settled on Mac, dressed only in dark blue sweat pants and grey under-shirt; his feet were bare and a dark blue chequered button-down shirt was in his hand. Her face creased into a frown as she took in the dressing on his elbow, the multitude of scrapes and scratches up his arm and the black and purple bruising on his shoulder partly hidden by the under-shirt.

Sheldon cleared his throat, threw the gloves in the waste bag together with the packaging. He closed up his medical kit and grabbed the waste bag. "I'll … er … let myself out. Mac, call me if you need anything. Don't worry about the rest, we've got it covered. I'll make sure Jacko gets his cab back."

Mac bit his lip and smiled as he shook his head at Sheldon. "Thanks Sheldon." Sheldon nodded and turned to leave. Jo looked at him for a moment as she realised the whole team had been in on this. She wrapped her arms around him and whispered a quiet "Thank you." Sheldon smiled at her shyly and then left them together closing the door quietly behind him.

Mac stood up from the table where he had been perched and attempted to pull on the shirt trying not to grimace as he did so. Jo stepped forward without a word and helped him slip it on. "Who?" she whispered not looking at him.

"Jonathan Finch's ex-wife Someya and one of her brothers. Amir. They were smuggling in looted artefacts to pay off their debts and … I suspect to fund Amir's drug habit. Ali and Nigel found out and paid the price. They were following us when we left Simon's. They saw me ..." Mac suddenly broke and Jo could see the guilt in his eyes. He took a deep breath before continuing. "Amir died in a car crash. An accident. I expect Someya to be leaving the country shortly and the gold to be returned discretely."

Jo looked at Mac, her face serious. "Why the secrecy? Marsh?"

Mac sighed deeply, a look of doubt briefly crossing his face. "I guess you could call it a question of diplomacy. He was convinced that they were fronting a terrorist cell with the money but we could find no evidence of that. Marsh wouldn't cooperate and we couldn't afford to wait."

"So you came?"

"We came." Mac looked at her intently as she took in what he had told her. "Did you ever doubt it?"

Tears came to her eyes as she realized the lengths that the team had gone to on her behalf. "You took a great risk. If Marsh finds out it could cost you ..." she began but Mac cut her off by placing a finger on her lips.

"I will always come for you no matter what the cost." Jo's heart leapt into her throat at his words. She couldn't speak so, as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, she wrapped her arms gently around his waist and buried her face into his neck. She had never doubted him, not for a single second.


	16. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

Jo watched Mac through the glass partitions of the AV lab. She could just make out the grainy image of a young man in combat dress on the screen in front of him. She couldn't hear the words but the young man's posture spoke of his sadness. Jo could see a muscle twitch in Mac's jaw, his stance conveying the tension of the moment. Jo sensed Sheldon come up behind her.

"James Donnelly?" he asked. She nodded. They watched as the young man straightened up and nodded. He said something to Mac who gave a small smile albeit one tinged with sadness. Then the young man on the screen drew his hand up in a salute which Mac returned before pressing a button to end the video call.

Sheldon placed a newspaper in front of her. "See this?" He pointed at a side-line. 'Diplomat's brother in freak car accident.' Jo sighed as she read the article.

"Has Mac seen it?" she asked.

Sheldon shook his head. "I think he's had enough for today."

Danny and Lindsay wandered in. "So you guys ready?"

"Oh yeah!" Jo turned, a wicked little smile on her face. "This should be fun!"

Forty minutes later Jo dragged Mac into the bar. Mac screwed his face up as he heard Simon's raucous laughter and saw the open-eyed astonishment on the faces of his team who were all gathered around some high-tables that had been pulled together.

"Ah gorgeous lady, come join us!" Simon's voice boomed around the empty bar. "Louise, a glass of wine if you please and Mac's usual. I was just about to tell everyone about the time Mac earned his Silver Star."

Mac grimaced. "Simon!" Mac's voice held a warning but one Simon Yates was obviously happy to ignore as was Jonathan Finch who came up and slapped Mac on the shoulder oblivious to the wince it elicited.

"Ah come on Mac. No need for modesty. It was thoroughly well deserved." Jonathan grinned at his former C.O. as he pushed towards him towards a seat.

"Yeah come on Mac. Don't spoil the fun. How come you've never said anything about it?" Danny was clearly enjoying himself.

"It was nothing." muttered Mac as he climbed onto the bar stool. He looked distinctly embarrassed.

"There you go Major." Louise gazed at Mac admiringly as she placed a beer in front of him. "Can I get you another one Adam?"

Mac glanced across as his young lab tech who was blushing and fiddling with his glass. He looked back at Louise who was smiling shyly at Adam. "He'd love one. Drinks are on me." answered Mac hoping to draw the conversation away from Simon's story but it wasn't to be. Simon was in full flow.

"So as I was saying … there we were caught out in the open. The transport immobilized. Two of us wounded. There was no way back and then this sand storm blew in ..."

"Dust storm!" Mac cleared his throat as everyone turned to look at him. "Strictly speaking as there wasn't actually any sand present, it was a dust storm..." Simon threw Mac a dirty look.

" ...And then this DUST storm blew in. We knew we were in a tight spot as the other platoons were deployed in a pincer movement and would have taken some time to reach us. Orders came down to fight it out. There was no way we could get to and deploy the main gun as there was a whole contingent of enemy soldiers holed up in an elevated bunker." Simon was getting into his rhythm by this point and everyone was on tenterhooks, everyone except Mac that is.

"A few!" Mac looked at Simon his face serious but his eyes twinkling. "Strictly speaking a whole contingent makes it sound like there was a lot of them. Better to say … a few." As everyone turned to look at Mac sitting there with a supercilious look on his face and then at Simon who looked like he was about to strangle Mac, they began to catch on that this was some kind of game.

"...there was a NUMBER of enemy soldiers holed up in an elevated bunker! ... Time was of the essence. " Simon's voice took on a dramatic tone as he drew them back into his tale. "Cole was badly injured and needed urgent medical treatment. The threat from the bunker had to be neutralised." His audience hung on his every word. "The Major ordered us ..."

"Captain!" Mac interjected, earning another glare from Simon and his audience. "I wasn't promoted to Major until after that campaign. Strictly speaking I was a Captain at the time..." Simon gestured with both hands pointing towards his chest. With a condescending look Mac waved at him to continue and reached for his beer, a small smile playing on his lips.

"The CAPTAIN ordered us hunker down and sent the rest of the convoy to take up position on the hillside and provide us with covering fire. By this time you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. The storm seemed to continue for hours, battering the transport, choking us with dust. All night we remained inside with the enemy taking pot shots at us, none of us knowing whether the next bullet would have our name on it." Simon was really ramping up the drama determined to get his story told although he kept one eye on Mac just to ensure he didn't sabotage it any further. "Of course we had no idea what the CAPTAIN was planning until the storm began to clear. And then all of a sudden the bunker exploded. Next thing we knew medivac's could be seen on the horizon and reinforcements were tearing towards us. We were saved."

Simon knew he had his audience in the palm of his hand. They were all leaning towards him eager to hear how Mac had managed to do it. "Unbeknownst to us, in the midst of the raging storm the Captain armed only with a combat knife..."

"I had grenades and a rifle!" Mac was incredulous. However Simon continued undeterred.

"...had low crawled 200 yards ..."

" It wasn't 200 yards ..." spluttered Mac.

"...through a minefield … to single-handedly take out the enemy bunker. … And, as the storm abated, rise like a Fata Morgana in the morning sun." Simon paused his hand in the air. Everyone fell silent bemused looks on their faces.

Mac and Jonathan were staring at him in amazement. "Fata Morgana?" they asked in unison.

Simon looked at them both. "A little too much …?" he asked sheepishly. Mac and Jonathan nodded slowly. "Oh I thought it sounded better than mirage." He looked disappointed.

"Oh I thought it added a rather nice touch of abstract surrealism." Sid patted Simon on the shoulder.

"Thank you Sid. I'm glad someone appreciates my efforts at poetic dialogue. And it's a true story folks. Right how about a second round?" Simon hopped off his stool and called for Louise as Jonathan muttered something to Mac about Simon's stories getting more over the top with every telling. Mac chuckled. He reached for his beer as Jonathan joined Simon at the bar. Mac's fingers had barely touched the glass when he noticed that the rest of his team were staring at him strangely.

"You crawled across a minefield?" Lindsay asked.

Mac looked a little put out. "Well er ..." He hesitated.

"As in land mines?" added Danny.

Mac opened his mouth and closed it again.

Don looked at him. "Strictly speaking?" Mac grimaced hearing his words repeated back at him.

"Strictly speaking … there might have been … a few." Mac blushed looking distinctly uncomfortable.

"How did you know where they were?" Adam looked horrified.

Mac looked at him intently for a second. "I didn't. To be honest, if I'd have known there were any at all I'd have gone for plan B."

"What the hell was plan B?" spluttered Don.

"Rappelling down the escarpment and tossing a grenade through one of the gun slits."

"Hey." called Jonathan from the bar. "Personally I thought you should have gone for plan C."

As everyone twisted around to look at Jonathan, Mac tried to suppress a grin. "No that never would have worked! ... Besides ... where the hell was I going to get a trampoline in the middle of the desert?"

As the others finally worked out that this was some form of soldier humour, Jo smiled at Mac knowing it was mostly a coping mechanism. She reached out and put her hand on Mac's shoulder leaning in towards him "You certainly know how to pull out all the stops when it comes to dramatic rescues."

Mac turned to look at her. A small enigmatic smile curved his lips as he too leaned closer and whispered in her ear. "Only for you." It was then Jo's turn to blush though whether it was from his words or his fingers brushing gently over her thigh under the table it was hard to say.

Simon approached and pushed a tray of drinks onto the table. "Now let me tell you about the time we were sent to Liberia." This time both Mac and Jonathan buried their faces in their hands in despair.

"SIMON!"

****

**_The End – Thank you for reading and a special thank you to all those who left me reviews._**

**_A little review goes a long way so do leave me one and let me know what you think good or bad... Pretty please!_**


End file.
